Ranma 12:Little Sister Saga
by hinafanboy08
Summary: Ranma's twin brother Kenji my OC falls into the drowned girl spring and is locked early on. adapting to life as a girl she meets her mother, and...Ryoga Hibiki...what will fate deal her? first two chapters cleaned up and free of spelling mistakes.
1. Kenji's Dispair part 1

Ranma ½: Little sister saga

Summary:Ranma's twin brother falls into the spring of drowned girl and is locked early on. Adapting to life as a girl she meets Ryoga. See where I'm going with this? Nudge-nudge wink-wink...

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, I'm only doing this for fun. Please read and review!

**Chapter1:Kenji's despair part 1: the terror of Jusenkyo!**

Four figures entered a large valley. A remote valley located in the Quinglong province of China, in the Byankala mountain range to be precise. The first one spoke. A rather large man with a green uniform. "Oh sirs, you two very strange ones indeed, is more then one hundred spring here and each one own tragic event happen there..."

The other three...well, two of the three...paid the uniformed guide no heed at all as they carried their own conversation. "Well, here we are boys." the tallest one stated triumphantly. A large man by the name of Genma Saotome.

"Ah, this place aint so impressive. I still think that public place in Shanghai was better." one of the younger ones jeered. He was Genma's eldest son and successor, Ranma Saotome. The pair jumped up on to the bamboo poles that protruded from the seemingly endless grid of small natural springs. The third member, Ranma's younger twin brother and the logical thinker of the family, Kenji Saotome sighed as the Jusenkyo guide called after his brother and father.

"Hey wait! I no finish my tragic story!" he cried out in poorly learned Japanese. Kenji and Ranma could easily be mistaken for each other if it weren't for the difference in hairstyle. Ranma had his hair in a low ponytail. While Kenji had longer bangs that went down to his chin and let his hair down freely. As well their personalities were quite different. While Ranma was, as far as a few people who'd known them were concerned, rather arrogant and stubborn, Kenji in contrast was quite modest and polite. The two brothers stood as equals in the art. While Ranma was slightly faster, Kenji was slightly stronger as he preferred to keep to the ground because he couldn't match Ranma in mid-air combat.

Kenji rolled his eyes as he jumped up to join Ranma and his father on the bamboo poles, jumping from pole to pole. The two boys would take turns at their father in midair combat as was the forte of the Saotome School of anything goes martial arts. Ranma went first. The two launched forward, a flurry of punches and kicks were landed and blocked by both fighters. They came down on different poles, only to jump forward once again. Ranma was victorious. He landed a kick square on his father's chest sending him into a spring.

Everything seemed to stand still for a moment before a giant Panda...I will repeat this...a freakin' PANDA jumped out of the spring and balanced on one foot expertly on a bamboo pole. Both Kenji and Ranma yelped in shock, causing Kenji to stumble slightly, but regain his balance an instant later. "What the hell is _THAT!_" Ranma demanded.

The guide looked nervous. "Oh! Not good sir, you fall in _Shanmaonichuaan,_ the spring of drowned panda! Very tragic story of panda who drown in this spring 1500 year ago. Now who ever fall in this spring take body of panda."

Kenji looked in astonishment at the panda. "...Dad...?" as if unaware of it's predicament the panda sprang into action, nailing the dumbstruck Ranma, sending him flying...right into the dumbstruck Kenji. The two teens collided and plummeted down to the spring just below Kenji's perch.

Water filled his mouth and lungs. The sheer impact had left him almost completely winded. The burning sensation that was the result of water flowing rapidly up his nose and down his throat was perhaps one of the more painful experiences of Kenji's life as he flailed franticly to resurface. With Ranma on top of him, however, this was proving very difficult. No! It couldn't end like this... it just...couldn't...

Ranma took hold of Kenji's collar as he resurfaced. Being sandwiched in between himself and the bottom of the spring must have knocked him out. Not noticing the strange new feel to his body he hauled what he thought was his brother Kenji out of the water, he was shocked to see an unconscious girl with long fiery red hair soaked to the degree that it was clinging to the skin of her face, completely blocking it from view. Ranma parted the girl's bangs. This girl was quite beautiful, and yet...so...familiar... he took hold of her wrist. Dammit! Her pulse was weakening fast!

He heard voices, but they didn't register. He wasn't going to let her die! He tilted her head up slightly and began to force air down her throat, Mouth to mouth. Then he quickly began pushing down on her chest. Avoiding hand contact with her ample cleavage, for obvious reasons. If she should wake up and be coherent enough to realize that his hands were touching...there...she'd rip him a new one. The pushing on her chest didn't work. He tried the mouth to mouth again. Pushing on her chest for the second time, he jumped back as her eyes snapped open and she sprang up. He immediately relaxes slightly as she turns over onto her hands and knees and violently coughs up water. After she seemed to cough herself out, she dropped and was unconscious once more.

Only then did he look at himself. "_WHAT THE HELL!"_ he shrieked in a voice that wasn't his own. It was a high pitched girl's voice. He looked down to his white garbed chest to see a girl's chest. A rather well endowed girl's chest.

"Weren't you paying attention boy! He just said you were in the body of a girl!" Ranma spun around to see his father standing over them, a dark expression on his face as he knelt down to examine the red haired girl. After a couple times of looking back and forth between them, he said in a somewhat amused tone. "Even in these forms, you two look almost exactly alike..."

Ranma did a double take. "What? This is Kenji?"

Genma sweatdropped. "You didn't make that connection?" Ranma shook his head dumbly. Genma slapped his palm to his forehead before pointing to the unconscious girl's waist, or more accurately, the colourful Chinese sash that was wrapped around her waist. Ranma's eyes widened. "That's right! Kenji got that while we were still in that port town!" Ranma said excitedly.

Genma nodded as he picked the comatose teen up, bridal style. "Were heading out soon..." he said turning to walk over to the guide's small cabin. Ranma stared after her father "Hey, Pops! Shouldn't we wait for Kenji to recover?"

Genma looked back over his should. "That's the problem, boy! She might **NOT **recover! There's a village of Amazon warriors to the north of here. We're going to ask if a healer can take a look at her. According to the guide...this has happened before..." Genma's face darkened further. "...and it didn't end well..."

Ranma swallowed hard against the lump forming in her throat. "Whaddaya mean Pop?" She asked nervously.

"I don't know the details, but apparently...last time someone came so close to drowning..." Genma tilted his head in a manner that made his glasses shine ominously. "...the change was permanent..." He finished, barely above a whisper. Ranma looked at his brother, and prayed he could still call him as such when all was said and done...

**To be continued**

Queue Akane's voice, as per usual at th**e end **of an episode...

**Akane:**Last time was permanent huh? What about Kenji? What's going to happen to her-um...him...? Who is that wrinkled old prune? Wait Kenji's waking up what's his fate going to be? Don't the next chapter of Ranma ½: Little Sister Saga! **Kenji's despair part 2: Life with the Amazons. Never be a man again!**

**Author's notes:**Well, what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Just tolerate it? Please review...and keep an eye out for another one of my creations.** Lost with a with a capital T!** A Ranma+Teen Titans crossover inspired by **The Titans and the lost boy** by Lathis! If you ever read this Lathis, Thanks for the great fic!


	2. Kenji's dispair part 2

Ranma ½: Little sister saga

Summary:Ranma's twin brother falls into the spring of drowned girl and is locked early on. Adapting to life as a girl she meets Ryoga. See where I'm going with this? Nudge-nudge wink-wink...

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, I'm only doing this for fun. Please read and review!

Author's notes: my first reviewer brought up a very valid point. I appreciate the feedback and hope you are satisfied with the character development in this chapter. On another note, how am I doing with spelling? Can you catch any mistakes? Cause my spell check isn't catching any

**Chapter1:Kenji's despair part 2:Life with the Amazons. Never be a man again!**

Genma Saotome was not happy. He had promised her that he would make each of them a man among men. Second only to each other. He promised her he would make her proud of them. Now Kenji is comatose, Ranma had been carrying her on his back. He called back to Ranma "How's Kenji doin' boy? Any improvements?"

Ranma replied quickly. "Nope, still out cold" Genma sighed. "gah, dammit. Alright boy, when we hit the halfway mark, I'll carry him the rest of the way" He had never been so afraid for Kenji's life than he was right now. It made him proud to see Ranma looking out for his little brother. He couldn't lose face now. He saw how nervous Ranma was when he told him about the guide's story. Kenji was teetering on the razor's edge and his anxiety was going to break him if they didn't get to that village soon. He knew he couldn't let Ranma see him like this...Seeing Kenji like this... It made him remember that time seven years ago...

------------------------------------Flashback----------------------------------

nine year old Kenji was sitting on a log in front of the toasty campfire when he heard a noise... A strange hissing noise... "Dad, what's that noise...?"

his father, sitting across from him looked up and listened carefully. He was about to speak when he heard it. A soft "sssssssssss" and then a rather loud rattling noise. Kenji jumped to his feet in a panicked fashion. After turning around, with his back turned towards the other two, he froze. "Kenji...it's a rattle snake...slowly back away from it..." Genma whispered franticly to his son.

He did as he was told, but it seemed fate had other plans as a bat swooped down into his face. With a panicked yell, he stumbled back and fell back over his log. Falling flat on his back. The snake's warning sound blaring in his ear, He slowly turned his head to see the snake. As if waiting for such a queue, The snake stared back with an inhuman, almost demonic, gaze. His eyes widened as the lights and shadows cast by the fire danced over the snake, the light catching in the snakes eyes, Making them look almost demonic with a feint flashing red and yellow glow as it slowly reared it's head up...and struck. Genma rushed as fast as he could, but he seemed to be moving in slow motion in comparison to the snake, who had struck not, once or twice, but three times in rapid succession. Twice in his right arm, and once in his left.

The demonic serpent hissed viciously, it's fangs bared and ready to strike once again. He was already starting to feel light headed "...why me...?" he whimpered softly as his right arm had begun to ache from the strikes that hit it. He had used his arms to shield his face from the creature's attack. Swoosh! Something flashed by his head and sent the beast flying into the trees. His vision was dimming. The last thing he saw before fading out was his father's panicked face hovering over him. "...D-dad...it...hurts..." he said weakly, and he was no longer coherent after that. Fading in and out of consciousness as they rushed him to a hospital as fast as they could. Dammit! He wasn't prepared for this. They made it to the hospital, and he barely survived. They were able to administer the antidote just before he whant into cardiac arrest. A colossal weight lifted from his shoulders the moment they told him he was going to be okay.

---------------End Flashback-----------------------------------

He snapped out of his thoughts and realized that he was now carrying his younger son in the manner of a piggyback. While the guide was now seriously struggling with one of the backpacks. Must have been Kenji's, it had been his turn to carry the heavy stuff before all this curse business started. He mused. This was the second time his younger son was in such a condition. His now female body coated in cold sweat, weak feverish moans, high fever, and her face was sickly and pale with dark circles around her eyes. She even went of on delirious tangents!

"...D-daddy..." she said weakly "...it h-hurts...h-help...me..." It broke his heart that he couldn't do anything to help her, but he still couldn't allow himself to show his anxiety in front of Ranma, otherwise, he would panic as well. The last thing Kenji needed was for them to do something rash and endanger her life even further.

"Pop" the sound of Ranma's voice snapped him back out of his thoughts. "You remember _"That day"_ right?" he asked. Worry clearly on his face, and saturated in his voice.

"...yes..." there was a moment of silence before Genma turned to face Ranma, a reassuring smile on his face. "Try not to worry, Kenji is a survivor. He's a lot stronger now then he was...on that day... he'll be okay, just have some faith..." That day...that's what they called it. The day when Kenji was bitten by that snake.

Ranma spoke again, but more gravely. "He may have survived...but it wasn't without scars..."

The memory was still fresh in his mind when someone decided to play a prank on him in the seventh grade. You know those things where you open the box and a plastic snake shoots out at you? Well someone decided to cram a bunch of these things in Kenji's locker. The moment he opened it, boom. These snakes are all over him and he's running about, screaming bloody murder. Even the teachers there had to admit, once they heard of 'that day', it was one of the most extreme cases of Ophidiophobia that they had ever seen.

And Kenji has told him of nightmares in which he is swarmed by these demonic snakes, taking his phobia even further. Ranma smiled as he saw a large wall ahead of them. "This, sirs, is the Amazon village. I ask for healer now" the guide declared as he went ahead. Two beautiful young women jumped down from on top of the wall as they approached, crossing their halberds in an 'X' in between them to block their path. The guide stepped forward and spoke in either mandarin or Cantonese...which ever they spoke in this region...anyway...and he did so in an imploring tone. As if begging for something. He would gesture to the unconscious teen every so often.

One of the gaurds said something to the other, sending her off somewhere, before walking over to examine Kenji. She seemed to take a moment to notice how cold and clammy Kenji's skin was as she took her wrist, perhaps to check her pulse. Then the guard's attention moved to Kenji's face. She brushed her bangs back behind her ear so she could get a better look. Her hair damp from the cold sweat that covered her face and body. Genma and Ranma remained silent as the Amazon girl examined Kenji, for fear that they might offend her in some way. The guide had taken great lengths to make sure they knew to be on their best behaviour. These amazons didn't much like outsiders, but they have lent a hand in the past Genma and Ranma both prayed that they were willing to help.

Ranma looked over to the gate to see that the second guard had returned with an impossibly small old woman at her side. The gaurd seemed to report something to the old woman before being dismissed. The old woman, who seemed to hop everywhere on a gnarled staff like it was a pogo stick, slid down said staff to the ground. "Lay her down so I can get a good look at her" she said in perfect Japanese. The elder Saotome did as instructed without question.

Ranma leaned in after a moment. "Is she gonna be okay?"

the old woman looked back up at them "Why don't you tell me what happened...?" and so Ranma and Genma dove into their story. The training, the panda, the impact, the nearly drowning. The old woman was silent. After a moment she took out her long pipe from her robe and lit it. After a long drag on her pipe, she exhaled. "...and this happened, how long ago?..."

Genma answered "A day, maybe two...please tell me she's gonna make it!"

the woman looked back down to Kenji. "She's a lucky one... she'll survive." the somewhat familiar sense of relief made him drop to his knees.

Tears of joy pouring down his face. Ranma, however was more composed, until... "...She survived, but I'm afraid she'll never be a man again..."

both coherent Saotomes stared wide eyed at the old woman. "You mean..."

she nodded. "what she's suffering from is a rare case called 'Jusenkyo Shock'. Tell me child, have you ever tried to plug too many appliances into one outlet?" Ranma and Genma nodded, blank looks on their faces. She gestured back to Kenji. "This is very similar, in that so much of the cursed water entered her system that her own ki capacity couldn't contain and offset it. Essentially, her male Ki was shorted out completely, trying to fend off the invading curse." the elderly woman hopped back to the top of her staff and said "Come. We shall find you a place to stay until she awakens. Don't dawdle, now!"

Ranma stood up. "...so all she really needs is rest?"

The old woman nodded once more "That one is a survivor. That much I can easily tell just by looking at her...yes, the worst is behind her now, she will be alright."

The woman looked back at him to see him looking with fascination at a large crowd gathered around a large tree trunk held above the ground by huge iron chains at each end. A fight was taking place between a rather pretty girl with long...purple...hair. Purple?

He was snapped out of his riviera by the old woman. "Don't even think it, sonny boy. Amazon males are not permitted to take part in the annual tournament, much less outsider males..." her stern look was replaced by a sly one. "I doubt you'd have what it takes anyway..." she stated matter of factly. Her tone betrayed by the smirk on her face

"I'm the best there is! Aint no way I'm gonna lose to a girl." Ranma declared.

The woman looked over. "Well, well, with all that boasting, you had better deliver... which reminds me, Your going to have to get used to calling her "sister" instead of "brother". I will have an interpreter help you supply up...one moment." she turns to a young woman walking by and speaks to her. The girl cast a curious glance at them before running off somewhere. She turned back to them. "The young one...Kenji, was it? Will be under the protection of my great granddaughter, Shampoo. She will alert you when she wakes up." a young man with large, thick lensed glasses jogged up to the old woman. He seemed to adjust his glasses, squinting into them as if he could barely see even with them. The old woman rolled her eyes. "yes mousse, it's me..."

Mousse straightened his posture slightly. "what do you want me to do, honoured elder?" he asked humbly.

"I want you to help these outsiders supply up. One member of their group is suffering from Jusenkyo Shock and so they are going to remain here until she recovers." the old woman replied.

Mousse raised an eyebrow. "she?" the elder nodded

"It isn't my place to give the details, but the victim is locked in the form of a young lady." he nodded "Okay, who's going on a supply run?" he asked turning to Ranma and Genma. Genma responds " I will." Mousse nodded and led him away.

As Ranma looked around, women who walked by would cast him a curious glance or a flirting wink. Then the purple haired girl ran over. She stopped in front of them and asked the elder something. "-You wanted to see me, great grandmother?-" the elder nodded. "-yes, I would like you to watch over that outsider girl there until she awakens…-"

Shampoo was appalled. "-Why must I, a two time village champion watch over a weak little outsider?-"

The elder's eyes narrowed dangerously. "-Because, she has suffered a pain and indignity far beyond any that you could endure! It is our way to aid those who suffer the Jusenkyo Shock, regardless of their origin. Now set to it!-" Shampoo jumped slightly at the sharpness of the elder's voice, And picked Kenji up bridal style, carrying her to a building at the far end of town. Ranma followed and watched as she laid Kenji down on a futon and began removing her training gear. It was drenched with her sweat from when she was still feverish. Shampoo looked up and glared at Ranma. "What?"

his confusion answered with a gesture toward the doorway. "Out" she stated simply. He looked down to see that Kenji's chest was nearly exposed. "Oh, right...forgot about that..." with that he exited the room.

15 to 20 minutes later, Shampoo stuck her head out. "You come in now" Ranma went in to see Kenji with a blanket over her, a wet cloth on her forehead. She slept peacefully. It looked like Shampoo had redressed her into a simple Chinese outfit, as he could see the blue collar above the blanket. He leaned his back against a wall and watched her, until he fell asleep.

Kenji's whole body ached. His hands reached up to rub his eyes, which were still too heavy to open on their own. His vision was blurry, but he was certain that he could make out the blurry form of Ranma sitting in a corner with his head down. When he was a little more aware, he realized that there was a damp cloth on his forehead. His vision had returned completely by this point. while his body still ached, there was something strange about it. His chest felt...heavy...he couldn't think of any other way to describe it.

He brought a hand to his chest, and his heart skipped a beat. Time seemed to freeze as he slowly looked down to see his chest sticking out further then it should. He then looked at his hands. They weren't his hands! They seemed delicate, feminine... he slowly looked back down to his chest and unfastened the collar of this Chinese shirt he had been wearing, for some reason, to realize that his masculine male chest had been replaced by a pair of round, firm breasts. With a panicked yelp he threw the blanket back and dug his hand underneath the waistband of the new pants he was wearing to go with his new top. His heart was racing, but then stopped as his hand reached it's destination to find that the equipment that was supposed to be there was gone. Tears welled in his eyes as he realized that he was now entirely female...he was a GIRL! wait, Ranma! He'll know what to do, he always does!

"Ranma!" Kenji gasped as she heard her new voice. Ranma stirred but did not wake. Kenji crawled over and began shaking his shoulder, which in fact had the desired effect.

Ranma woke with a start. "Kenji! Your awake, how're ya feelin?"

The tears in Kenji's eyes falling freely now. "Ranma, what's going on? Why am I a girl!"

Ranma took Kenji's shoulders and shook them slightly "Kenji, calm down!"

this calmed her slightly, but didn't stop the tears. "W-where -sniff- are we?"

Ranma looked her in the eye and said "We're in a village of Chinese Amazon women. Right now Pop's getting some supplies so we can get back to Japan."

A raspy voice got their attention "Welcome back to the world, child. How do you feel?" she looked to the source to see an old woman balancing on a wooden staff.

"...a little disoriented, and sore all over, how long have I been out?" Kenji answered.

The woman smiled. "Three days, child. Frankly, I expected you to be out for a week at least."

Kenji blushed at the roundabout compliment. "So, how did I turn into a chick? Was it those Jusenkyo springs?"

"Yes. Your brother fell into the same pool. However..." the old woman trailed off. Kenji's shoulders slumped at the woman's uncertainty, as well as Ranma's.

"Is there a way to change me back?" she asked. Ranma shook his head silently.

"sadly...no." was the old woman's reply "Your male ki was overwhelmed by the magic of the spring of drowned girl when you took in so much of it's waters that you very nearly drowned your self. This resulted in the feverish condition you've been in until now. This occurrence has been called 'Jusenkyo shock' because it is very similar to plugging too many appliances into a single outlet. Your system has simply shorted out... If that makes sense at all."

Kenji was silent for a long while. It was sinking in that she would never be a guy again. Why was it her and not someone else? Why was fate so cruel? She sighed, standing up. There was no use moping when there was no way to reverse it. She'd just have to live with it. It wasn't the first time training had done something to her that changed her forever, but this time was really something else. A dismal smile spread across her face. "How ironic..." she said with a light chuckle. "...Dad set out to make me a man among men and I end up a woman...well, aint that a slap in the face?" she always had an odd gift for finding some amusing irony in any bad situation. With her back pack in tow, she walked outside to see Ranma and her father standing out there waiting. That Shampoo girl was rather rough on Ranma, despite the way she looked at him when he wasn't looking. No doubt trying to pick a fight so she could lose and name him her husband.

The old woman, who she later discovered was the matriarch of this particular tribe, called Cologne...go figure...Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne...anyway, Granny Cologne had taken the time to inform her of the laws of their society. Cause apparently, if she got into a fight with one of these women and won...she'd be porked. Oddly enough, if it were Ranma, he'd be...married. One more amusing irony to chuckle at a year down the road. When they got back to Japan, she'd need a new Identity. She had a feeling though, that her past would catch up with her...or perhaps Ranma's or her father's past...and she would be strung along for the ride, as per the usual scheme. Perhaps Karin would work? Or Naomi...no, that one's overused...how about Yoiko, or Ranko...no. Ranko is too much like Ranma...and so they were on the road once again. This time bound for Japan.

"GET BACK HERE, STUPID OLD MAN!" a voice nearly identical to Kenji's rang through the forest in utter outrage. This voice belonged to the female Ranma as she chased their father who was in panda form for stealing her rice and pickles. Kenji merely fallowed because she had always found their silly confrontations rather amusing. She had never taken part in such antics, had she? Wait! Now that she thought about it...there was their seventh grade year. There were always those fights in the cafeteria that were over bread...I will repeat this...these fights were over...bread.

This of course was back when she was still a boy. She was always one of the lucky ones who got their food before 'last call' as her last class before lunch that year was always P.E. and the gymnasium was conveniently close to the pitifully stalked cafeteria. She seemed to recall Ranma always getting into fights with another boy over the very last...what ever it was that the lunch lady was tossing into the crowd for them to fight over like enraged dogs. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the other boy's name...it started with an 'R'...at least she was pretty certain it did.

She brings her thoughts back to the present as they continue to chase their pandafied father up a rather steep incline, the jungle making it infinitely more difficult to carry this task out. They finally reach the tree line to find someone already standing there. He jumped over the panda only to get a kick in the face from Ranma, who didn't even notice the young man's presence. Kenji saw him fall down into a hauntingly familiar valley as she jumped along these conspicuously placed rock formations in pursuit of her relatives.

**To be continued...**

**Author's notes:**And that's the end of Chapter two. The next chapter will be at their timely arrival at the Tendo Dojo! Kenji's gonna decide on her new name, and she unknowingly gives Ryoga his first kiss! P-chan's boxom redhead mistress is going to meet her mom, and there's nothing that Genma can do about it! Sound interesting? Then keep an eye out for the next chapter of **Ranma ½:Little Sister Saga**! Chapter 3: **Ranma's arrival and the Lost boy's revenge!** Whew! That one really tuckered me out! I don't know how some writers just keep a single chapter going until the scrolling thing is the size of a pinprick! I hope you guys are satisfied with all the character development in this chapter. I intend on bringing Nodoka in much earlier then in the original story. I also have a spin-off of this story in mind where Ryoga's the one who's locked as a girl and Kenji is the knight in shining armour. What do you think about that idea? Answer with reviews please. Until then...later days...


	3. Ranma's arrivalchallenge of Kuno

**Ranma ½: Little Sister Saga**

**Ch.3: Ranma's arrival and the Challenge of Kuno!**

**Author's notes: **Really sorry for the long delay. I lost access to my brother's laptop…he took it with him when he moved out…anyway… I have my own now, and will be updating more regularly from now on. Thank you Riniko, for the list of spelling errors. that really helped. Now…on with the story!

**Ps.** This chapter has been edited and reposted. I forgot to save after adding a whole bunch to it…please read and review! This is the whole chapter!

Kenji dragged her feet tiredly as the Saotome family finally found them selves in Tokyo. She'd spent the last month as a girl, which meant that the Saotome men now knew that Kenji was NOT to be trifled with during her "time of the month" as they were so unfortunate as to discover this when the normally laid back neo-girl had been in the most foul of moods that either Ranma or Genma had ever seen for a week straight.

She now wore the same blue Chinese outfit that the Amazons had given her, which consisted of a blue sleeveless shirt and snug-fitting pants that matched. Her ornate Chinese sash wrapped neatly around her waist and black kung fu shoes on her feet, and heavy-looking black bracers on her arms. (Picture Ranma's outfit in the OVAs, except tailored for a girl.)

They had returned to Tokyo to be greeted by heavy rain… peachy…this meant that Ranma was in girl form and their father was in his panda form. Kenji groaned in agitation as her father and brother clashed in the streets…in the pouring rain… all the while sprinting down seemingly random streets and alleys. "Picking my fiancée for me?" Ranma snapped at her father as she flipped her pigtail back over her shoulder. "That sucks old man…come on!" Ranma dropped into a defensive stance. People whispered and murmured as they walked passed. Kenji could make out a few comments about her and Ranma as well. PANG! Kenji snapped back to reality to the sight of Ranma unconscious and an uprooted stop sign in her father's paw.

The watching strangers erupted into whispers once more. "…I can't believe what that panda just did…" "…what's the world coming to...?" "…why is there a panda in Japan…?" "…wow, those two redheads are cute…"

Kenji rolled her eyes as she returned to her thoughts as to what her new name should be. 'I've been thinking about this for far too long. I need to make a choice, now!' she scolded herself mentally. 'Karin, I'm gonna call myself Karin Saotome from now on…' She looked up again to see her father, with Ranma over his furry shoulder and still unconscious, looking at her quizzically. He held up one of his scribbled signs. "Have you made a decision yet?" it read.

She replied with a smile. "I just came to one actually…I've decided on Karin. It's a much more fitting name, I think." The panda seemed to think about it for a moment, but then shrugged his shoulders and returned to leisurely paced walk down the drenched sidewalk.

A man in his early 40's stood with his back to his three daughters. An uncomfortable silence hung over them. This man's name was Soun Tendo. The middle daughter, Nabiki Tendo, aged 17, sat with a displeased frown on her face. "…you don't know…?" she more stated then asked. Soun looked back over his shoulder.

"…I mean, I've never met him…" he said flatly.

The youngest daughter was the next to speak. "This is stupid! Don't we get some say in who we marry?" her name was Akane Tendo.

The oldest daughter spoke next. Her name was Kasumi Tendo. "Akane's right, Father. We don't even know him…" Soun looked back over his shoulder once more. This time a large grin plastered on his face.

"That's an easy fix." He said, puffing out his chest proudly. "They just got back from a training journey in mainland China, and they're on their way here right now."

Akane wasn't impressed. "No way! I'm not getting married to some guy I've never met!"

Nabiki arched an eyebrow at her little sister's outburst. "Chill, Akane…who knows, he might be really cute." She said casually. Their conversation was cut short by the sound of voices I n another part of the house. The Tendo family jumped…well…everyone except Akane jumped.

Soun and Nabiki took off running around the corner. "Saotome! Finally you're here!" Soun called out.

"Oh, Ranma…" Nabiki sang with a giggle. The two came running back around the corner in a panicked scramble. Akane and Kasumi stared in confusion at the scene when their unasked question was answered by a large panda accompanied by two teenage girls. Both had long red hair, but in different styles. Their faces were nearly identical, except that while one was screaming all manner of profanities at the panda that carried her, the other seemed rather amused by her counterpart's situation… 'They must be sisters' Akane thought.

"Jeez Pop! You're scaring them out of their wits!" the pigtailed redhead scolded as her freestanding sister only laughed. She seemed very casual and laid back, considering how physically toned she was. Not freakish or anything…but she looked like a fighter with some decent training under her belt. Her blue Chinese outfit didn't leave much to the imagination as it clung to her figure rather snugly.

She turned to the Tendos with a bow. "I'm sorry for the intrusion…" she glances at the panda to her right and then back to the confused family. "…the old panda here insists that you were expecting us. My name is Karin Saotome, and that's Ranma."

Soun's eyes watered happily as the panda placed Ranma before him. "You're Ranma?" she nodded timidly. "Oh Ranma, how long I've waited for this day!" he cried as he engulfed Ranma in a large bear hug. After a moment, his eyes blinked open and his gleeful grin was replaced by a look of complete bewilderment, and then…was that…terror? He stumbled back a couple steps and then fainted. Yup, he figured it out. His future son-in-law was in fact a girl.

Kasumi put a damp cloth on her father's forehead. "Oh, poor Father. He's so disappointed…" she said sadly.

Nabiki however, wasn't so sympathetic. "He's disappointed? What about me? Some fiancée this turned out to be. Don't you know the difference between a boy and a girl, Daddy?"

Soun lay on the floor, depressed. "I don't understand…My old friend told me he had two sons…" Karin and Ranma gave each other worried looks.

Akane rolled her eyes before approaching the Saotome siblings. "My name's Akane. Wanna be friends?" she asked cheerfully. Both Ranma and Karin returned the smile and nodded. The next ten minutes had been a tour of the house, which ended at a large empty room with a small alter on one wall. "You two do martial arts?" she asked. "Yes, we've been training for as long as we can remember…" Karin trailed off wistfully. She had always been a little nostalgic. She could remember a friend they used to play with all the time when they were six. His name was Ukyo…

-------------flashback------------

Two small boys of six years of age came running around a corner, excited grins on their faces. They couldn't wait to play with their friend 'Uchan'. That's what they called him. 'Okonomiyaki Uchan'. Ukyo took a small spatula in each hand, and guarded the cart as he usually did. Ranma and Kenji rushed him to the ground, and won a small okonomiyaki as a prize for winning the 'battle'. This particular day, however, was a little different…after they had gone back to training for the day, Genma gathered his two boys. "Now boys, I want you to think carefully about this…" he said.

"Okay!" the boys cheered, not really paying any attention to their father at all at the time.

"What do you like better, Okonomiyaki…or Ukyo?"

"Okonomiyaki!" Ranma cheered immediately. Genma asked with a serious tone.

After a moment of thought Kenji answered. "I like playing with Uchan, Daddy!" Genma only smiled at the boy. The next day, they left…and took the okonomiyaki cart with them?

------------End flashback-----------

Karin could still remember the look on Ukyo's face, anger and sadness. "…Karin?" Akane's voice brought her back from her thoughts. "Sorry. What?"

Ranma rolled her eyes in an amused manner. "Karin daydreams a lot."

Karin blushed at the comment. "…sorry, my mind was elsewhere. What were you asking?" Akane chuckled. "I asked if you would spar with me."

Karin smiled. "Sure!" Ranma shrugged her shoulders with a smirk. "I guess I'll sit back and watch then…"

Karin and Akane stood facing each other in the dojo, and each dropped into their stances. Ranma sat against a wall, and smirked with anticipation. She couldn't wait to see if this Akane chick was any good. The two standing girls sprang into action. Akane charged into the offensive. Ranma watched intently as Karin deployed her usual battle strategy. Back when she was Kenji, she always let her opponent thrash her to get a feel for how good they were before launching her own attack. This fact seemed to dawn on Akane as she couldn't help but wonder about the calculating stare from Karin. Having figured it out, Akane jumped back, and returned it with a calculating stare of her own. Karin smirked. "Figured me out, huh? You're pretty smart, but it's my turn now…" Karin launched her attack. Ranma frowned in confusion as Karin blocked Akane's attacks instead of dodging, and didn't go through several openings. 'heh, Karin's goin' easy on her…' she thought. 'I suppose it wouldn't be fare to go all out on her right away, but still…she ain't bad…for a girl…'

Karin, as Ranma had discovered while they were still in china, was still strong enough to trade blows with her while she was a guy. While Karin was still "Kenji" her strength was noticeably beyond his own. Akane was beginning to slow down as she dodged and blocked with all she was worth. Karin suddenly jumped back to give Akane some room to breath.

Akane was breathing heavily. "-huff-…wow…-huff- you're pretty good…" she panted.

Karin was panting slightly as well. "You're not half bad your self. You've got potential to be a lot better though." Karin and Akane dropped their stances. "Alright, I think that's enough for now…" Karin announced.

"Can we do this again tomorrow?" Akane asked hopefully.

Karin responded with a laugh. "You bet! I was going to drag you back to dojo anyway!" All three girls in the dojo laughed.

Akane began walking out of the dojo. "We'd better hit the bath before dinner's ready, coming?" Karin shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, probably should…" she said before she shot a look at Ranma, who immediately caught the unspoken words.

An agonized groan escaped her mouth before she stood up and called after Akane. "Hey, Akane! Hold up a sec."

Akane stood in the hallway as Ranma jogged out after her. "What's up?"

Ranma looked downward timidly, fiddling with the hem of her oversized red Chinese shirt. "…um…promise not to freak out...?"

Akane put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Ranma looked almost fearful. "Akane…there's something I need to show you…" she whispered. She and Akane walked back to the bathroom, and Ranma shut the door behind them. She turned back to Akane and took a deep breath. "Akane…I…I really am a guy…I'm like this because of some weird curse that's triggered by water…"

Akane looked at her sceptically. "a curse…?" she didn't seem to believe her. With an indignant frown, she turned the faucet to pour hot water. After a few seconds, she began filling the wash bucket that was beside the tub, and poured it over her head. Akane stared in awe as Ranma turned from the short redhead…even shorter then Karin, she decided…to a raven haired young man with his head hanging low in shame. "This is my real form." He said grimly.

Akane was speechless for a good while, until finally she mustered a quiet "…how…?"

Ranma shook his head shamefully. "It happened while we were in china. A place called Jusenkyo…" and so he told Akane the whole tale. The training, and the accident he was about to continue when Karin, who had entered unnoticed, cut in.

"…and I was cursed too." She said sadly. "…but unlike Ranma, I can't change back… I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life…" Akane stared at Karin in shock as tears welled in the redhead's eyes. "…I hope…that we can still be friends…" Akane found her own eyes watering. Their story touched her profoundly.

She pulled the nearly crying Karin into a hug. "…yes…" was the only word that broke the silence.

Ranma smiled as he left the bathroom. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all…she knew…and she was okay with it? That went surprisingly well. He went downstairs to find his father, in human form, sitting next to Mr. Tendo. Nabiki and Kasumi stood around them. Mr. Tendo turned and regarded Ranma with a nod and a solemn expression. "So…you told them?" he asked quietly, receiving a nod from his father. Ranma nodded and sat down. "yeah, I just finished telling Akane…"

Genma looked at him. "How'd that go?"

Nabiki smirked. "well, I guess since we haven't heard any screams of rage yet, I guess she's handling it pretty well." She said with her usual air of confidence. Akane and Karin walked around the corner chatting back and forth about something, when the sound of Mr. Tendo's voice rang through the room. "Well now son, your problem isn't so bad after all!" he cheered, putting an arm around Ranma's shoulder and turning him towards the three Tendo girls. "Now Ranma, pick any one of my girls to be your fiancée!"

Nabiki had noticed Akane giving Ranma a hopeful look, and so she took her little sister's shoulder and steered her forward. "I think Akane is the best choice, by far." Akane's head darted around in panic. "Huh, what?" Kasumi joined in the fun, taking Akane's other shoulder. "Oh yes! I know you don't like boys Akane, so you're in luck. This one's half girl!"

Akane wasn't happy. "Oh, please! You make me sound like some pervert lesbian!" The two teens blushed as they were gently shoved towards each other, and there was an awkward silence between them. "…I'm not going to make any promises…" she began. "…but I'll give it a shot, if you really want me to…"

Mr. Tendo's voice startled them. "Excellent! Shall we call the priest now?"

Akane and Ranma both whirled around to glare at him. "NO!" they both bellowed simultaneously.

Kasumi broke the abrupt silence. "Where will they be sleeping? Will Karin be sharing a room with one of us? We only have one guest room." She stated matter of factly.

Akane piped up. "she can sleep in my room." Akane and Karin looked at each other and grinned before taking off towards the bath.

The girls stripped down and stepped into the water. "Oh, that's nice…" Karin purred as a wave of relaxation went through her.

"would you like me to wash your back?" Akane offered.

"Sure." Karin replied as she turned her back to Akane. Akane began with a wash cloth. "…Oh…that feels…so good…"

Akane seemed to tense up slightly as if she was about to say or do something, but was afraid of the outcome. "…Karin…?"

"Yeah?" Karin answered.

"Did you go easy on me…in the dojo…?" Akane asked nerously.

Karin was nervous now. "…well…I didn't know how good you were…You didn't know how good I was…at first I did, but only because that's how I fight. I let the opponent throw their punches to get a feel for how good they are." Akane didn't really like it when someone went easy on her, but Karin was someone who's judgement she believed that she could trust.

"Okay." Akane said, nodding in understanding. Karin moaned as Akane rubbed her shoulders. This was bliss! Would she have gotten to feel this more often if she had been born a girl? Maybe she would have known her mother…if she were still alive…was her mother alive? What kind of woman was she? What was Akane's mother like…?

"…Akane…?" Karin asked quietly.

Akane stopped rubbing. "What's wrong?"

"What was…your mom…what was she like?"Karin asked timidly.

Akane smiled gently. "I was only four when she passed away…but, I remember her well. She was really pretty. Dad says I look just like her…"

Karin looked down at her reflection in the water. "I wonder if I look like my mother?" she said absently.

"Oh, you do. I don't see any of your father in you at all!" Akane assured.

Karin smiled sadly. "…I never got to know my mother before Dad took us on that training trip when we were two…" she said sadly. "It was my Dad's belief that our mother had no business raising us…" her tone was getting bitter now. "…that having her around would weaken us…that having a mother's love in our lives would make us soft…" tears of bitterness and resentment poured down her face now as she broke down and began to cry.

Akane stared at the back of Karin's head in bewilderment. Did she really have so much grief? Such resentment? Had she been shouldering this sadness all these years? Was Ranma aware of this? So many questions with no answers. She would ask Ranma later, but for now…Karin needed a shoulder to cry on. And so she turned Karin around and let her cry into her shoulder as the redhead wrapped her arms around her for comfort.

For the rest of the night, Karin wasn't talking to anyone. She ate in silence, and gave a sharp jab with her chopsticks to her father every time he tried to steal food off her plate. She never said a word though. Akane was starting to get worried. Karin was practicing by herself in the dojo, so Akane decided to take the opportunity to talk to Ranma. She found him sitting on his futon mat. "…Ranma…?" she asked warily.

He looked up. He seemed to be troubled about something as well. "Yeah?"

"I'm worried about Karin. she hasn't spoken to anyone all night..." Akane said fearfully.

Ranma ran a hand through his black hair. "Nah, she'll be okay. She gets a little emotional from time to time…aside from the whole "time of the month" thing…she's just brooding, she'll be okay in the morning."

Akane wasn't entirely convinced. "Are you sure? Have you seen this before?"

Ranma gave her a reassuring smile. "Once or twice. Trust me on this…she'll be fine."

Ranma gave her a serious look. "What did you two talk about?"

Akane looked downward. "She asked me about my mother…"

Ranma nodded in understanding. "Oh, yeah…trust me. She'll be fine. She just needs a day or two to cool off after discussing 'that topic'" the reassuring smile returned to Ranma's face, which gave Akane some hope.

"Okay. Umm…..g-goodnight…Ranma…" she whispered. She heard a soft "you too…" as she left the room.

The next day, Akane woke up to find that Karin's futon was neatly made. Had she even gone to bed at all? She wandered out of her room and down the stairs to see Karin helping Kasumi in the Kitchen.

"…Karin…?" Akane inquired in bewilderment.

The girl in question looked over her shoulder and gave a cheery smile. "Good morning!" she cheered.

Akane couldn't help but smile at her new friend's positive change in mood. "Someone feels better this morning" She returned with her own greeting.

Karin smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, umm…I just needed to let out some pent up frustration. I'm fine now. I promise." Akane laughed. Ranma was right. She worried over nothing…right? No matter. Today was a new day. A new SCHOOL day…dammit! Oh well, at least Karin and Ranma are coming too. Too bad Ranma didn't know.

"Why do I gotta go to some stupid school?" Ranma demanded. 'Oh, let the morning madness begin…' Akane thought as she picked up her book bag. She walked through the kitchen once again to see Karin ready to go.

"Because Ranma, we're gonna be here for a while and we can't just lounge around the house all day!" Karin called over to her brother. Her serious look replaced by a sly smirk. "…besides…do you really think we're going to be any use to the Tendos if we're a couple of uneducated simpletons?"

Ranma looked indignant. "I don't just lounge around the house, I train!" he said before the panda that was his father shoved a book bag into his chest. He glared at the panda. "Okay fine! I'll go." He snapped. So Ranma, Akane, Karin and Nabiki went out the door.

By the time they made it to school, there was a crowd of people in front of the building. "What's the occasion?" Karin asked, getting a grin from Akane.

"My morning training…" she said before charging forward. In a matter of seconds, she dispatched the entire crowd. Karin and Ranma looked on in a somewhat impressed manner. "Not bad…" Ranma said. Suddenly something blurred towards Akane from the side. With surprising reflexes, she caught it out of mid air. A red rose? "The road to true love is a long and winding road, which thou hath guided me…such a boorish lot, these fools. Come Akane Tendo! Let us do battle!" a voice, no doubt the one who threw the rose at Akane.

Akane's eyes took a very Nabiki-esque half-lidded gaze. Clearly not impressed by the stuffy "speech".

Ranma stepped forward. "c'mon Akane, lets go in before this weirdo makes us late." He said carelessly. "You there knave!" the guy said, his blue Kendo robes billowing in the wind dramatically as he did so. "Aren't you being a little too familiar with my beautiful Akane Tendo? Who are you? I demand your name!" Ranma was about to comply when the guy cut him off. "Is it not rude to ask someone else's name before giving your own? Very well, I shall introduce myself. I am the rising star of Furinkan High! I am the great Tatewaki Kuno, otherwise known as the amazing "Blue Thunder"!" the man smirked cockily.

Karin looked at Nabiki. "Blue Thunder? is this guy for real?" earning a laugh from Nabiki.

"He changes it all th time." Nabiki said with a chuckle. "It wouldn't surprise me if he calls himself something like "Golden phoenix" next week" both girls laughed.

Ranma handed his bag to Karin "Well, I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome school of 'Anything goes martial arts'" he said with equal drama as Kuno before jumping up with a front flip and landing across from him. "…and I except…" he dropped into his stance. "…your challenge."

**End Chapter**

So, what do you think? I know I said Ryoga was going to be in this Chapter, but I had forgotten about the whole 'Kuno challenge' part. Ryoga's going to be in the next Chapter. On a more positive note…foreshadowing with the Ukyo flashback. Do you see where I'm going to go with that? Anyway…that's Chapter #3 look forward to chapter 4.


	4. Enter Ryoga! my heart Skipped a beat!

**Ranma ½: Little Sister Saga**

**Chapter 4: Enter Ryoga! My heart skipped a beat!**

**A**uthor's notes: Another delay…sorry about that…my computer had viruses on it and it became royally screwed up, so I had to take it to Staples to get it cleaned up. Any way…it's finally time for Ryoga to step in the spotlight! Please read and review!

P.S. I still don't own Ranma ½….dammit…

Ranma stood adjacent to the self-proclaimed "Blue thunder" Tatewaki Kuno. "Have at thee, miserable mongrel!" he bellowed before charging forward, boken ready. Kuno lashed with his sword and Ranma jumped above the horizontal swipe just in time. Kuno and Ranma both narrowed their eyes at each other, and even Akane could tell that they were both thinking the same thing. '…he's good…'

Akane looked at Karin who was silent through the whole exchange, to find a familiar cold-calculating look on her face. The same look she had during their sparring match. "They're pretty well matched, but Ranma is still faster…" She stated flatly. Akane and Nabiki both looked at her quizzically. "How do you figure?" Nabiki inquired. Karin's emotionless gaze remained as she spoke again. "Kuno has a pretty strong battle aura and has been faintly charging his sword strikes with ki. Whether Ranma is yet aware of this, I'm not sure, but if kuno hits him even once…"

Kuno's skill with the sword was impressive. The guy may have been a loon…but, he knew what he was doing. Ranma had to admit, the guy was good. –swiiisshhhh!!!!- Another slash dodged. –swish, swish!- oops, lost a couple hairs on that one! "I will never allow this atrocity! You and Akane Tendo, living under the same roof…absurd!" Ranma finally found an opening and weaved into it. "Now let me make one thing absolutely crystal-clear!" he snapped. "My sister and me are just staying there as house guests…that's all!!!" Ranma lashed out with a kick, which was parried by the wooden sword. Their battle went on for perhaps ten minutes before Nabiki looked skyward. "It's going to rain soon" she mused. Karin smirked. "Ranma!" she chided. "Hurry up and put this guy away. It's gonna rain soon!" At that moment, Kuno and Ranma seemed to hit each other at the same time. Time seemed to slow to a complete standstill as a flash of lightning raked across the sky and the foretold rain began to fall. Out of nowhere came a familiar panda carrying tea kettle. He snatched Ranma around the waist as the rain began to fall, at the same time kicking the stunned Kuno in the face. He was K. in the single strike, leaving Karin and the two Tendo sisters staring in surprise at the scene that had just unfolded before them.

Karin and Akane fallowed in close pursuit while Nabiki went to class. When they arrived at the outdoor gym equipment storage shed. To find Ranma still in male form…or…was it back in male form? Akane looked at him curiously. "Looks like you guys are pretty evenly matched, huh?" Ranma shrugged his shoulders while rubbing his hair dry with a towel. "ah, I don't know…maybe, then again, maybe not. We never got to finish the fight, now did we?" Karin smirked. "You'd best not underestimate that Kuno guy, Ranma. He got you pretty good." Ranma gave his sister a sceptical look. "no he didn't" he said simply, but started to get nervous as she approached him with her cruel "I told you so" look on her face. "Really?" she asked with a grin. "Then it won't hurt if I press…" she brought a hand to Ranma's ribcage. "…here?" one sharp poke to the ribs later, Ranma was one the ground, curled up into a ball, barely containing his obvious agony. "Like I said, he got you good…twice…" Ranma and Akane both looked at her quizzically "twice?" they both asked in unison. "Your neck." She pointed. Akane examined Ranma's neck to find a darkened bruise near the bottom. Anyone who didn't know better would swear that it was a hickey! And once news got out about his engagement to Akane, people would get the wrong idea.

----------------At that same time…-----------------

"…And you didn't even feel it?" Nabiki asked, honestly, a little surprised. Tatewaki Kuno was holding his bangs up while looking at his forehead in a hand mirror. "A simple touch…a poke to the forehead…nothing more!" he insisted. Kuno glared at his reflection. The word "insufferable" printed across his forehead for all to see. "That imbecilic rube! He doesn't even know how to spell!" he exclaimed. Nabiki rolled her eyes. Leave it to upperclassman Kuno to worry about such things… "This is how one spells my name!" he declared, revealing the word "competent" on the chalkboard behind him Nabiki smirked. 'Time to have a little fun' She thought. She picked the chalk from Kuno's fingertips and wrote a word of her own. "Isn't it more like this…?" she asked flatly. It took everything she had, not to break into laughter at the sight of the look on Kuno's face. He turned to face her. The brief look of indignant shock was replaced with hardened fury. "You do realize that I absolutely hate you…?" Nabiki was straining now. "I'm so scared." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Ranma, Karin, and Akane made their way to the classroom to find that they were just in time. The teacher, a man with glasses and a plain dress shirt, regarded Akane with a nod as they entered, but seemed interested when Ranma and Karin walked in behind her. "ah, you two must be the Saotomes." The siblings in question nodded. The teacher cocked his head to the side. "Were you not given uniforms?" he inquired. They looked at each other with confused looks. "Uniforms? ...nope, we were gonna pick those up during the lunch break." Karin said offhandedly. The teacher shrugged his shoulders before turning to the rest of the class. "All right everyone! We have two new students joining us today." He announced, drawing everyone's attention to the Saotome siblings. "Everyone please welcome Ranma and Karin Saotome. They just came back from china, so let's all say a friendly "ni hao"!" He said in a joking tone, making everyone in the room roll their eyes. "Okay, Ranma take the seat next to Akane…" Ranma did as he was told, and the teacher turned to Karin. "miss Karin, would you take the seat next to Mr. Gosunkugi…Hikaru, raise your hand, please." The ghostly looking boy in the corner raised his hand. Karin could almost make out looks of pity as she made her way to the empty seat next to Hikaru Gosunkugi. As she got closer to him, she felt a strange aura. It wasn't the kind of feeling a girl would get would a pervert leered at her…this was something else…like some strange energy swirled around him that no one could see, but everyone could feel.

Karin sat down in the seat as instructed. 'it's strange' she thought. 'what kind of power is that…?'

As the day went on, Akane had introduced Karin to her circle of friends, Yuka and Sayuri. They got along quite well. By the end of the day, Karin and Ranma had both gotten their uniforms, but Ranma seemed to have tossed it somewhere when no one was looking as Karin and Akane eventually realized that he didn't still have it. They walked across the schoolyard, unaware that Nabiki was meeting with Kuno at that very moment…

"WHAAAAAT!!!???" Kuno nearly wailed. Nabiki nodded calmly "you heard me, Kuno baby…engaged. His daddy and our daddy decided it before we were born." Kuno was outraged. "UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!" he roared before taking off down the hall.

Just as Akane, Ranma and Karin made it to the front gate, the doors of the school burst open. Kuno stood in the doorway for a moment before charging towards them. "Unacceptable, Ranma Saotome! Your engagement to the beautiful Akane Tendo is an affront that will not go unpunished!" he bellowed ominously. Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah? Well, last time I checked…" Ranma charged forward. "This…" a body shot… "Isn't…" roundhouse kick to the jaw… "Any of your damn business!!!!" dual open palm strike sent him flying back. Kuno lay stunned for a few moments then struggled back to his feet. "I fight on!" he declared. Ranma smirked. "…not bad…" Kuno charged forward again with more speed and intensity then before. Karin's eyes widened slightly. "he wasn't this fast before." She said in bewilderment. Ranma had to dodge much harder then before. Now Kuno had Ranma on the defensive. The constant rain of attacks had Ranma back-pedalling towards the school swimming pool. Akane and Karin gave each other worried looks. They knew how this would end. Ranma back-pedalled further and further until his left foot went into the water. A wave of dread went down his spine as he fell backwards into the pool. The water triggering the transformation from male to female. The now female Ranma twisted her body underwater to try and swim to the other end of the pool. Apparently Kuno jumped in after her, 'cause she felt a hand grope her breast. Wrong choice! She took his arm and flung him downward with an underwater shoulder toss. Once rid of Kuno, she made a break for it. Akane and Karin followed.

Akane and Karin followed Ranma until they passed a homey looking doctor's office. Akane spoke up. "Ranma, we can get hot water for you here!" Ranma looked over her shoulder. "Really? Let's go then!" Ranma turned on her heel and headed into the clinic. Ranma and Akane went in, but Karin had other plans. "I'll go on ahead, okay? I have a personal matter to deal with…" she paused as she saw looks of concern on Ranma and Akane's faces. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about; just something I've been meaning to do for a while. I'll be fine. I promise, okay?" she said giving them a reassuring smile. She turned and continued on.

-----------At that same moment-----------------

Tatewaki Kuno sat cross legged by Furinkan high pool. "…yes, no doubt about it…" he pondered. "That was a woman…but…where was Saotome?" then something clicked in his head. "Of course!" he declared triumphantly. "Damn you Ranma Saotome! Using that poor girl as your decoy whilst you cowered away from our battle! You shall pay dearly for this affront!" Nabiki could only roll her eyes. Was he really that dense? Ranma changed right before his eyes for god sake! "…yeah…right…decoy…" was all she could manage to say. Kuno's stupidity really astounded her sometimes. She couldn't take much more of his moronic epiphanies. She'd definitely had enough for today. "whatever… I'm going home." She said flatly.

-----------In parts unknown------…Okay…two blocks away…-----

A young man wandered down a random street in some god-forsaken corner of the world. His attire consisted of a yellow Chinese shirt and dark green pants with yellow cord wrapped in a criss-cross pattern on his legs, much like the way that the shao lin monks did. His name was Ryoga Hibiki. 'What did I do to deserve this?' he thought. He looked back down at his map glumly. It may as well have been drawn in crayon for all the good it did him. He was roused from his brooding by the sound of a girl's voice singing softly.

"…Shine, bright morning light

Now in the air, the spring is coming

Sweet blowing wind

Singing down the hills and valleys

Keep your eyes on me

Now we're on the edge of hell

Dear my love

Sweet morning light

Wait for me, you've gone much farther

Too far…"

He fallowed the voice around the corner, nearly bumping into its source. A beautiful redhead wearing a blue dress that seemed to be really common in this area. A school uniform perhaps? "Oh, excuse me!" he said bashfully. His face turned bright red as he looked back up at her. Yes…it had to be a uniform. She had a book bag slung over one shoulder. Her beautiful bright blue eyes…long red hair…she was a picture of beauty… She looked timidly back up at him with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Um…hi…" an awkward silence hung over them both before Ryoga cleared his throat to speak. "…uh…hi, um…could you…" he began, but ran short as his mind went blank and he couldn't remember what he was going to ask her. "…yes…?" she asked, obviously trying to coax the rest of his question out of him.

Karin looked up at the stranger. She couldn't comprehend the reason that she was so flustered at the mere sight of him. Well…to be fair, he was rather good looking, and it he apparently didn't have the same confidence that Ranma had. But…something about him just seemed familiar. Like they'd met somewhere before, but…had they? "Y-you look kind of' familiar. Have we met somewhere before, maybe?" He gave her a surprised look. "I don't think so…" he trailed off as his blush deepened. "I th-think I'd rem-member a p-pretty girl like you…" he managed to stutter out. Karin smiled. "Thanks, that's really sweet of you." She said softly. She felt the urge to give him a kiss on the cheek, but resisted. She had only just met the guy…besides, if Ranma ever learned of this…or her father! Neither of them would let her hear the end of it! So, for the sake of having some peace and quiet, nothing yet. "hello?" Karin shook the cloud of thoughts from her head. "I'm sorry, what?" the guy looked a little discouraged. "Could you tell me how to get to Tokyo from here? I'm a little…lost…" Karin couldn't help but giggle. "tee hee, you're already in Tokyo. The Nermia district, to be exact." He blushed again. This time, he had an embarrassed grin on his face. "Really? That's good…hey; could you tell me where I could find a Ranma Saotome, by any chance?" 'this guy knows Ranma by first and last name, huh?' she thought. "Yeah, I can take you to him. Do you mind if we take a short detour first though?" his face lit up happily. "No. not at all. My name is Ryoga, by the way Ryoga Hibiki." Ryoga Hibiki? Wait, that's it! "Now I remember! You're the guy that Ranma used to always get into fights with during lunch hour back in middle school, aren't you?" Karin asked Ryoga seemed surprised. "sounds pretty accurate, but are you sure we're talking about the same guy here? The Ranma I know went to an all boy school." Karin grinned. "I know… 'Shinji Ikari middle school for boys' right? My dad was too cheap to enrol us into separate schools so I had to pass myself off as a boy for a while. Back then I went by the name "Kenji" My name is Karin Saotome. Ranma's my older brother." Ryoga stopped dead in his tracks. "Your brother…?" he asked shakily. Karin nodded curtly. Ryoga's face became grim. "…He and I have a score to settle…I may end up hurting him…just so you know…" Karin felt a wave of dread run through her as she remembered the incident that led to the fight they were supposed to have. "That's right…you guys were supposed to have some big duel weren't you…?" Ryoga nodded. He looked at her, regret in his eyes. "I only hope you can forgive me…" It was almost heartbreaking for her to see the look on his face. Earlier, it felt as though the day couldn't get any better when he was smiling. Why was she thinking like this? She couldn't possibly be in love with him, could she? No.

Ryoga couldn't look her in the eye. He felt almost ashamed for telling her now. She seemed really uncomfortable. Really…sad… "I'm sorry…" he said, looking down to the sidewalk. "Why are you so angry at him?" Karin asked quietly. Ryoga gulped. "…It's kinda personal…" he began "Please tell me!" she insisted. Ryoga mentally cursed. 'Dammit, now I have to tell her! I can't say no to her…' "…well…have you ever heard of a place called Jusenkyo?" her eyes went wide. "Jusenkyo?" she whispered. "You got cursed!" Karin gasped as he nodded in shame. "…Yes…I'm cursed…thanks to him." He said darkly. Karin was horrified now. "Oh God! The cliff! That was you?!" tears welled in her eyes. Ryoga knew what was coming now. 'Aw hell, now she's going to cry!' she threw her arms around him and began to cry into his chest. "…Ryoga…" she choked through the sobs. "…I'm so sorry. If I had known…" Ryoga pushed her away and gripped her shoulders. Was this girl really related to Ranma? It didn't seem possible! When he thought back, "Kenji" had black hair, not red. Dyed perhaps? In fact, he was able to recall several occasions when "Kenji" offered to share "his" lunch with him after Ranma stole his own. He looked down at Karin, who was still sniffling and looking back up at him with watery reddened eyes. "…Please don't cry…" he said softly as he pulled her back into a caring embrace. His heart fluttered as they remained like that for what seemed like an eternity. He felt tears building in his own eyes. To think he actually believed this beauty to be a boy… She certainly changed a lot in the last three years. For the moment…she was all that mattered. Ranma's transgressions didn't matter… his heart felt like the giant hole that had once been in his soul had been filled with something so wonderful that he couldn't even describe it. Only one thing mattered, and it was certain. He was in love.

Ranma and Akane walked down the sidewalk chatting back and forth about the days events. "That Doctor Tofu…" Ranma drawled. "He's a martial artist isn't he?" Akane nodded. "Yup!" she confirmed. "He was the best martial artist I knew until you came along." Ranma recalled what happened earlier in the doctor's office.

-------------flashback-------------

The office seemed to be empty as they walked in. Akane turned to Ranma. "Wait here while I get some hot water, okay?" Ranma, not having anything better to do, complied. Although alone in the room, she felt as if she were being watched. Suddenly a hand was placed on her shoulder from behind. She looked down to see a hand of…bones! The next second inched by so slowly that it felt like an hour as she looked at the bone hand and nothing else for that painfully slow second before jumping up to the door. "Eeeeeek!!!!!" the perpetrator was a friendly looking man wearing a dark grey martial arts training outfit. With a playful chuckle, the man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before making the skeleton in front of him wave its hand. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I didn't mean to scare you." The door on which Ranma perched was suddenly pushed back…with her still on it. A swift –SLAM!!!!- was promptly fallowed by a loud. "AAAHHHHH THAT HURT!!!!!"

---------End flashback-----------

Ranma was truly impressed with this Doctor Tofu. The guy was able to hide his presense even from right behind him. And then Akane slammed the door on him… "You didn't have to close the door that hard ya know, my hands are still sore. Stupid timboy…" he said only to be knocked down by a swift punch to the face from Akane, who continued walking as if nothing happened. She needed something sweet. A smile graced her features as she came up to the local ice cream parlour. She walked in to see Karin sitting next to a boy wearing a yellow Chinese shirt, and a very large backpack on the floor underneath their booth. He was, no doubt, a martial artist. The next thing to catch her eye was the look in Karin's eyes. She had the look of some one in some love struck dreamland as she continued to gaze longingly at him. Akane stood there watching for a minute or two before Karin noticed her. Karin greeted her with a grin and waved her over. "Hey Akane! Come sit with us!" she called over. Akane smiled and complied. "Hi Karin, who's your friend?" she said with a slight teasing tone. Karin blushed a little, having understood Akane's hidden question. That question being 'who's your boyfriend?' "This is an old friend from middle school. His name is Ryoga Hibiki." Akane sized him up once again. Not half bad looking…nice work. "Akane Tendo." She greeted. Introducing herself. Karin seemed to really like this guy. It was almost inconceivable that she used to be a guy. Did this whole 'jusenkyo curse' thing affect her mind as well? It must have made her female in both body and mind. As far as she could tell, anyone who didn't know better would swear that they'd known each other all their lives. Then she saw the longing gaze again, but this time from both of them. They had fallen for each other. Hard. Akane couldn't help but smile as Karin snuggled into Ryoga's shoulder. "Ahem!" Akane and Karin jumped at the sudden sound of Ranma's voice. "Ranma!" Karin yelped as Ranma leaned down toward her spot at the table. "So this was that 'personal matter' you had to take care of, eh?" Karin panicked as Ryoga glared at Ranma from his seat, but remained surprisingly calm. "It's been a while, Ranma…" Ryoga said icily. Ranma looked confused. "Do I know you?" Ryoga's face tightened in fury. "Is that all you have to say to me?! After all I've been through…I am going to make you pay!" he growled. Ranma straightened his stance. Confusion deepening. "What did I ever do to you?" a feral grin crossed the fanged fighter's face. "Well, let's see…first, there was all those times that you humiliated me back in middle school! Day after day, you humiliated me and stole the only food I was lucky enough to eat all damn day!" he accused. "Utterly trivial when I think back about it. I've come to terms with that now. But then after our fight got…postponed…I fallowed you all the way to China!" Ranma's eyes widened in shock. Almost as if he knew what was coming. Ryoga's voice was bordering seething growls now. "All the way to a certain training ground in the mountains…sound familiar?" Ranma seemed offended. "Okay, so you got a curse at Jusenkyo. Why is it my fault?" he demanded. Karin finally spoke up. "Think back, Ranma. Think back to when we were chasing dad through that rainforest…to that cliff…" he seemed to be trying to remember what exactly happened that day. Then his eyes went wide. "…oh…I remember that now…" Ryoga nodded. "So you know what has to happen then?" Ranma nodded. "A fight of honour…" Ryoga's eyes narrowed. "One week to pepare…" he said darkly. He cast one last look at Karin, with sorrowful eyes, before leaving…at least he probably intended to leave. "Those are the washrooms!" some random customer called out. His face turned bright red as he turned to another door. "…Staffroom…" the cashier stated flatly. Akane looked at Karin, who once again had that loving gaze in her eyes as she walked over to him. She took his hand and led him out of the parlour.

--------------outside----------------

Ryoga's face was bright red as he cursed to himself. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Damn!" Karin cupped his cheek with her hand. "shhhhhhh…." She cooed. "…no one here is going to judge you…" she said softly. Ryoga's eyes began to tear up. "…Karin…thank you…" she leaned up on her tip-toes and puckered her lips. She got closer and closer…until Ryoga brought a hand to her lips. "…Not yet…" he whispered. "I'm not worthy…not until I beat Ranma…" Karin looked up at him sadly. "…Ryoga…" she pleaded. He couldn't stand to see her like this. His eyes teared up once more. "Karin…I'm sorry…" he turned on his heel and ran away…she watched his retreating form. "…I'll wait for you…" she whispered. As Ryoga ran around a corner, One thing became certain for Karin…she was in love…

**Author's notes: **Well, that's chapter 4! In the next chapter…the day of reckoning has arrived as Ranma and Ryoga settle their differences in the battle that will cost Akane her long hair! I'm trying to keep some parts as close to the original story as possible. However, there's gonna be a twist as Karin begins her secret errand…the search for her long lost mother. Stay locked in for Chapter 5: **Unfinished business**! I want to bring in not only Nodoka, but also Ryoga's mom within the next couple of chapters. As well, I'm planning on having Pantyhose Taro come in as a romantic rival for Karin's affection. Well, that's my two cents. Later!


	5. Unfinished Business

**Ranma ½: Little Sister Saga**

**Chapter 5: Unfinished business!**

Author's notes: I'm back with another chapter folks! Hopefully the new format is more reader friendly. Thank god for beta readers, eh? Now it's time for the battle between Ryoga and Ranma, and Karin begins her search for her long lost mother! I'm slowly getting better at writing good sized chapters now, I hope I can keep at it…I do not own Ranma ½. On with the story!

An exasperated sigh escaped Karin's lips as she flipped another page in the phone book. The name Saotome was a little more common then she had originally foreseen. With seven Saotome's in Tokyo alone…great…Now she just had to find phone books for Kyoto, Osaka, Okinawa, Hokkaido, damn, this sucked. As well, she had to do all this with out her father knowing. He always seemed to get all panicky when she asked about their mother. Try to dodge the question some how…he'd always tell some obvious lie and make her sound like some yakuza crime boss! "Whatever…" she spat bitterly. "He just knows she'd skin him when she found out about the Cat fist training that the oaf put Ranma through when we were only six."

She glared disdainfully at the ground. Over the years. She'd come to resent her father for all the things he did to them. Supposedly in order to make them men among men. Well, what if the liabilities outweigh the gain? It just wasn't fair...

That resentment would be forgotten until the man would unleash another brilliant scheme to get them chased out of a restaurant by a manager screaming at them to come back and take their punishment. Or leave her and her brother high and dry to work off the tab while he ran and cowered on the other side of town. Then it would resurface, stronger then ever.

Another sigh. Karin once again found her mind beginning to wander. Why was all this happening? Why couldn't she have been raised by her mother? She'd have a parental figure who was sane, competent, who didn't work her to exhaustion for any kind of parental love…why couldn't she have been born this way? Oh, right…she had to be a true martial artist. With no friends or family to weaken her…a true martial artist was someone who fought for those who couldn't fight for themselves.

A true martial artist…was brave, strong, skilful… yet her father trained them to always exploit your opponent's weaknesses and flaws… to do what ever it took to win The whole thing just sounded too much like fighting dirty. Even before Jusenkyo, she never condoned many of the things that her father trained her to do.

He was a dishonest coward. She believed that the only thing that would come from being raised by a dishonest coward…was that she'd end up a dishonest coward herself.

She smiled to herself as her mind returned to Ryoga. He was practically her father's polar opposite. Honest…handsome…-SLAP!- Her own hand smacked against her face in order to put an end to these ridiculous notions before she began having delusions. Karin once again found herself pondering why she was never excited by women any more. Did this curse really affect her to such a degree? That she was falling in love with a guy…? She used to be a guy herself for god's sake!

She lowered her gaze as her eyes began to water. Key phrase: 'used to be'. She was a girl now…she certainly felt like one… her emotions going into overdrive… and the fact that she was so emotional now, the fact that she wanted to just run somewhere and cry…made her all the more depressed.

Karin jumped with a yelp when a familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Ni hao!" the voice came from behind her. "Shampoo! What are you doing in Japan?" she cried.

Shampoo merely smiled. "Shampoo come to see if Kenji adjust to life as woman!" she chirped happily. "Great grandmother come too. We have restaurant now! You come see?" Karin looked incredulously at her Chinese acquaintance. "You guys moved to Japan?" Shampoo nodded as if there was nothing to be surprised at.

After a moment of thought, Karin nodded. "Ya know what? I think I might just take you up on that. I think I need a word of advice from granny Cologne anyway…" she said casually. Shampoo jumped with excitement before leading Karin down the street. Thank god for the weekend. "Oh, by the way…I've changed my name to Karin…"

It had been one week and three days since that encounter with Ryoga at the ice cream shop, and Ranma stood in the middle of the Furinkan sports field beside the school…waiting for his challenger to arrive. He smirked as the challenger in question rounded the corner. Ryoga seemed to pick up the pace when he realized that he finally made it. "Ha! I'm finally back. It's time to put this to rest Ranma." Ryoga declared.

Ranma smirked in response. "…Uh huh…I'm sure. I'd wager you just want to impress my sister!" Ryoga snarled in rage. "You shut up, Ranma! This has nothing to do with Karin, so you leave her out of it!" his voice became a hoarse whisper and his eyes narrowed even more venomously. "…this is for kicking me into that cursed spring, Ranma." Ranma merely shrugged. "Whatever lets just get this started so I can kick your ass and go home." That seemed to be the final nerve as Ryoga charged at Ranma with all the fury of a biblical prophecy. He drew his red umbrella from the top of his backpack and swung, making a low –whoosh!- as it flew through the air.

Ranma dodged swing after swing. His swings were slower then Kuno's, but far more powerful. More powerful then anything even Karin, or Kenji could muster. Ranma began to sweat as he realized that he was dealing with someone that was on a whole other level then Kuno. His form was quite solid, his defences were fairly impressive, perhaps on his own level. Ranma smirked. 'finally' he thought. 'a real challenge.'

Ryoga swung his weapon with all he was worth. Ranma was just barely able to dodge. Ryoga smiled. 'I've got you on the ropes, Ranma…' Ranma jumped into a back flip to get quick distanced. Ryoga's eyes widened for a split second. 'now's my chance!' he thought. He jabbed his umbrella into the ground, resulting in a small explosion. The impact was so great, that the sidewalk beneath had crumbled. Ranma, however, was able to flip beyond the range quickly enough.

Ryoga grinned ominously. "You're a slippery one, I'll give you that, Ranma, but you'll need more then speed if you intend to beat me!" he intoned. Ranma smirked. "Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet, pal." And so the two fighters charged forward again…

At the same time, across town, Karin walked next to Shampoo to arrive at a homey looking Chinese restaurant. They entered. Karin looked around to see ten tables and four booths along each wall. "Ni hao, Shampoo find girl-type Kenji!" Shampoo announced to the empty room before a familiar old woman hopped in on her staff.

Elder Cologne smiled at the two young girls. "Ah, it's good to see you again, child." She greeted. "Girl-type Kenji change name to…uh…Kar…rin…Karin?" Shampoo informed. She glanced at the redhead to make sure she said it right, and received a nod of confirmation.

Cologne nodded. "Karin, eh? Nice name, dear." Karin blushed at the praise. "…Thanks…" she said timidly. "So, Karin…how are you fairing in life as a woman?" Cologne asked.

Karin looked down shyly. "Well…I actually wanted to talk to you about that. You see…I met this guy recently and…" she blushed as she trailed off. The Amazon elder had a wry smirk on her face. Karin could tell that she knew what was going on, and was probably going to do a little teasing.

The old woman's smirk crinkled into a grin. "Oh, a handsome young man's tickled your fancy, eh? He's a lucky boy!" she declared with a cackle. Karin's face went bright red at the elder's laughter. "You have feelings for this boy, do you?" Karin nodded. "I used to be a guy. I used to like girls…but I don't anymore…" she said sadly. "…and I don't know why…" she sighed.

The woman smiled gently. "It is the jusenkyo shock, child. It rewrites your mind in order to suit your body." She said. "it rewrote your mind to be as if you were born female." Karin listened silently as the elder continued. "The girl who drowned in that spring all those years ago, she lost her life but her essence remained within the spring." Karin nodded in understanding, but still remained silent. Cologne spoke again. "Then here you come, a healthy young teenager, and fall in and nearly drown yourself, in the spring saturated with her essence. When you left that spring, you took a piece of that essence with you. You took in so much of her essence that part of her personality bled into your own. That is what causes the changes to your mind, dear."

Karin was silent for a while…a piece of that girl's essence, huh? So it's her influence that made her fall in love with Ryoga. She smirked. "I don't suppose there's something we can do about that, is there?" –BONK!- "OW! Hey, that hurt!" Karin wailed indignantly as she rubbed the top of her head tenderly after taking a staff to the head from elder Cologne.

Cologne gave Karin a flat unimpressed stare. "…why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?" Karin gave a depressed sigh and brushed her hair over her ear.

"I guess that's a 'no' then, huh?" she asked sadly, receiving a nod from the elder. "The only thing you can do is adjust." The old woman said plainly. Karin looked down to the list of phone numbers in her hand. "…May I use your phone…?" she asked nervously. "…there's someone I'm trying to find." Shampoo and Cologne both nodded before the younger Amazon lead her to what looked to be the restaurant staff room with a grey telephone sitting on a counter.

Shampoo spoke up out of curiosity. "Karin, who you call?" Karin looked at Shampoo and smiled. "…my mother…" she said softly before picking up the phone and dialling the first number. –ring-…-ring-… "Hello?" a female voice on the other end greeted. Karin smiled. "Hi, does the name Genma Saotome mean anything to you…?"

Back at the field, the battle between Ranma and Ryoga was getting more and more intense by the minute. No matter what one would do, the other would quickly counter it. Ryoga had managed to bind them together with a pair of hand cuffs. Where he got them was anyone's guess.

"Ha! Now you won't be able to keep running away, Ranma!" Ryoga taunted. Ranma smirked and dove for Ryoga's ankles, and slid underneath forcing Ryoga to face plant. He was now on his knees with one hand going between his legs, still bound to Ranma, who sat on Ryoga's back with a taunting grin on his face.

Ryoga seethed. "Make a fool of me, will you?" he bellowed before using his free hand to push off from the ground, sending both of them high into the air. A flurry of punches and kicks were thrown in mid-air before the two combatants returned to the ground.

Ranma was curious. What did Ryoga turn into? Well, now's as good a time as any to ask…"I've got a question for ya, Ryoga. You fell into a spring at Jusenkyo…what do you change into?" he inquired.

Ryoga's eye twitched a little at the question. "As if I would tell you in a public place, Ranma!" he shouted indignantly. "…and here you are, calling what you turn into a 'curse'…you don't know how good you have it. At least you're still human…you can still defend yourself…" the last words, he said with a bitter sneer.

Ranma narrowed his eyes. 'Ryoga means business…' he thought as he stared Ryoga in the eyes. 'I'm gonna have to start thinking about puttin' him away.' Ryoga was the toughest opponent he'd ever faced. Of that, there was no doubt. His power was mind boggling, and his skill was amazing…but he couldn't lose. He was Ranma Saotome of the Saotome school of anything goes martial arts, and Ranma Saotome doesn't lose!

Ryoga drew some headbands and infused them with his ki. 'let's see how he handles this…' he thought. "Ha!" he cried as he threw the handful of bandannas as if they were boomerangs. Ranma jumped as the buzzing projectiles flew towards him. The first two buzzed passed him, but the third sliced across his chest ripping his red Chinese shirt open.

"Aw, man… I really liked this shirt…" Ranma wined, holding the edged of his now shredded shirt outward to inspect it. He looked back up at Ryoga, and then their surroundings. They seemed to be in the forest behind Furinkan. "Hey, Ryoga! I'd say it's about time to wrap this up, don't you think?" Ryoga smirked. "I agree…" he said ominously as he undid the black sash that was fastened around his waist. Ranma began to sweat as the sash became stiff and straight. Like a baton…or…

Ryoga charged forward. With his family's 'steel cloth technique', his sash could be used as any number of things. In this instance…a sword. He slashed and stabbed to no avail. Ranma just kept on dodging. It was just as well, when he thought about it. He didn't want to kill Ranma…hurt him, maybe, but kill him? No. Karin would never forgive him if he did.

"Ranma!" Akane's voice rang through the forest. "You can't win! Ryoga's just too strong!" Ryoga's and Ranma's eyes both went wide. 'What the hell is Akane doing here?' Ranma thought "Akane, get outta here!" he ordered. "Girls got no business interferin' in a man-to-man fight!"

Akane scowled. "Well, excuse me for being concerned, jerk!" she snapped. She spun on her heel and began to stomp away.

Ranma slapped a palm to his forehead. Dammit, now he was going to have to go after her… "Akane, hold on!" he called over as Ryoga swung his sash-blade at Ranma. Ranma, however saw it coming and did a front flip kick that sent Ryoga stumbling back. Little did they know that the sash-blade was spinning like a boomerang, right at Akane.

"Akane, listen…I…" Ranma began, but was cut off when Akane spun back to face him in her rage.

"I don't want any of your…" she was cut off by the sound of a spinning blade buzzing just behind her head, severing her hair from mid-neck down. Her long, ponytail bound hair dropped to the ground behind her. She stood in shock for what felt like an eternity.

"OH GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE?" Ryoga shrieked as he charged passed Ranma and began to franticly inspect Akane for injuries. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen. It was an accident, I swear!" he babbled, trying to apologize rapidly.

Ranma waved his hand in front of Akane. She didn't respond. "…she's in shock…" he deduced.

"Well, of course!" one girl said. "her hair just got butchered, you'd be in shock too if you nearly got decapitated!" she accused. Ryoga's gaze lowered to his feet. He wasn't impressed with himself.

Ryoga hated when something was his fault. He had to set things right. Akane lost her hair because of him. "Akane…if it makes you feel better… hit me…as much as you want…" he said sadly.

Ranma stepped up. "Me too, Akane. Hit me as hard as you want, I deserve it." Ranma hated for other people to get hurt because of his fights. As he looked over at Ryoga, he could tell that the taller boy felt the same way.

-SLAP!-

-SLAP!-

…and with that Akane turned and left the two boys with red hand marks on their faces. Ryoga had one on his left side, while Ranma had it on the right. "…agreeable girl, isn't she…?" Ryoga muttered. Ranma remained silent.

Back at the Chinese restaurant, as Karin found out, would be called the "Neko Hanten" or "Cat Café" her list of phone numbers had been reduced to two. the first five had all been a divine coincidence that they had the same last name…

Karin sighed as she looked back down to a number labled "N, Saotme". "Well, here goes…" she mumbled as she dialled the number.

-ring-

-ring-

"Hello?" another female voice greeted.

"Hi, does the name 'Genma Saotome mean anything to you?" she asked.

Karin's heart began to double its pace when the woman answered. "Oh, yes. He's my husband." She stated plainly. "Have you actually seen them? My husband and two sons?" she demanded excitedly.

Karin smiled. "Yes I have…how far are you from the nermia district?"

The woman sounded confused at the question. "About twenty minutes or so, why?"

"I'd like to discuss their whereabouts with you in person. Will that be a problem?" Karin asked, rather timidly.

The woman on the other end seemed to pick up the wrong message, as she sounded like she was panicing at this point. "Oh no, they aren't dead, are they?"

Karin chuckled. "Heh, no. they are alive and well. Their situation isn't dire…so much as…strange."

The woman was just confused now. "Strange? How so?"

Karin was silent for a moment before she replied. "That's what I'd like to discuss with you. Things happened to them that your contract didn't factor in. can we talk more in person, if at all possible?"

The woman sounded agreeable enough. "Alright." She said. "I'll be in the nermia ward in half an hour. Where should we meet?"

Karin smiled in anticipation. "Meet me at a chinese restaurant called the 'cat café' I have bright red hair. You can't miss me"

----30 minutes later----

A woman wearing a purple flower printed kimono walked down the unfamiliar streets of the nermia ward of Tokyo. This woman's name was Nodoka Saotome, and she was on a mission. She was looking for her long lost husband and children. Genma, Kenji, and Ranma.

She was sure to bring her family katana. The 'kaishaku'(righter of wrongs), for there was always the lingering fear that it would be used for something other then an engagement gift for which ever of her sons got married first.

Oh, how happy she would have been if she had given birth to a daughter. She wouldn't have even cared if the girl was a blatant tomboy…at least she wouldn't have had to live alone all these years. She would have had a child to connect with…but no…she had two sons, and her husband Genma staked all three of their lives in a promise to make their two sons men among men…rivalled only by each other.

Not a day went by that she didn't regret agreeing to such foolishness. She would have never agreed if she'd known that Genma would have stopped writing. She had begun to fear the worst when his last letter said that they were going to a place called "Jusenkyo" in china, and that was four months ago.

Her sadness turned into a hopeful smile. No longer would she be alone. This girl that had called her said she knew where they were. The sight of a rather masculine young man brought her back to reality. He wore a yellow Chinese shirt that was torn slightly. A yellow bandanna was wrapped around his forehead. And a large travel pack with a red umbrella strapped to the top was slung over one shoulder. He looked beat up, like he just got out of a fight. Was he…? Could it be…?

"Excuse me, young man" she greeted a little shyly. The boy looked up at her from his map and began rubbing his tender blackening eye.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked politely.

Nodoka fiddled with the fabric wrapping of her katana timidly. "Are you…by any chance…Ranma Saotome?" she asked nervously.

The young man frowned and shook his head. "…No, I'm not…but, I know where you can…" he stopped in mid sentence and narrowed his good eye at her, as if trying to figure something out.

"You're Ranma's mom aren't you?" he finally asked.

Nodoka couldn't help but grin with excitement. "Yes I am, but I understand he's in a strange situation…"

The young man chuckled. "Hahaha…you have no idea…"

He knew Ranma, that much was certain. "would you mind shedding some light on the issue? I haven't seen him in years and I'd like to know how he's doing…" she asked, only for the young man to shrug his shoulders.

"Sorry, Mrs. Saotome…but it's not my place to talk about his "problem" to other people. You'll have to ask someone else." He replied as he turned to leave.

"Wait. One more question?" she asked. The young man turned to face her. "Could you direct me to a Chinese restaurant called the "Cat Café"? I'm supposed to meet someone there."

The boy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but I don't know this area very well, and with my sense of direction, you'll end up in Siberia before you get to that restaurant…sorry I can't help ya." His face turned bright red as he spoke. "…sorry but I have to get going if I hope to get home within the next couple of days. Good luck!" he called over his shoulder after turning to leave once again.

The sound of a bicycle bell from behind her made Nodoka turn around. A girl with long purple hair with a takeout container resting on the front handlebars of her bicycle was riding towards her.

"Excuse me, young lady!" She called to the girl as she rode passed. The girl stopped and looked at her curiously. "Could you direct me to the Cat Café, please, I have to meet someone there really soon."

The girl smiled. "Oh, you is Karin's visitor?" she asked before nodding. "you fallow Shampoo, I take you there"

Nodoka smiled. Finally she could see her children again…assuming that this "strange situation" wasn't too difficult to work around. Seriously, what's the worst that could happen? It wasn't long before they came up on the elusive Cat Café. Nodoka turned to the aptly named "Shampoo". "Thank you very much for your help young lady. This means a lot to me." She said gratuitously.

The girl merely nodded as she led Nodoka in the restaurant. Once inside, she called over a red haired girl that was sitting at a near by table. "Ni hao, Karin! Shampoo find lady that you call!" the girl in question looked up from a note book she was writing in. there was a textbook there as well. She was doing homework, it seemed.

Karin looked up from her math notebook to see Shampoo had returned from making her deliveries, and there was a pretty woman in her mid to late thirties with her. The woman walked over to her table with a cheerful smile on her beautiful face. Karin scrambled to get all her homework back into her bag as the woman sat down.

Karin stood up and bowed. "Thank you for coming to see me, Mrs. Saotome. I'm sure Ranma and Kenji will be overjoyed to see you." This received a smile and a nod from her unsuspecting mother.

She looked the woman up and down. She and Ranma looked a lot like her. "…Now, Mrs. Saotome…" Karin began. "…Your husband and sons…before you meet them; there are some things that you need to know."

Karin's mother looked down at her wedding ring thoughtfully. "I assume that you're talking about that "strange situation" that you spoke of on the phone." Karin nodded.

"Have you ever heard of a place in china called Jusenkyo?" Karin asked. Her mother looked up. After a moment of silence she answered.

"…Yes…my husband wrote to me just before he set out for Jusenkyo… a supposedly cursed place. My husband assured me that there was nothing to worry about…"

Karin's face darkened. "Oh, those curses are very real…that is the reality they face. They ignored warnings of curses and now they pay the price. They left that valley with curses…"

Her mother looked horrified. "What kind of curses?" 

Karin smirked. "A Jusenkyo curse is a curious thing." She said. "there are hundreds of springs all over the valley. Something completely different has drowned in each one." She looked her mother in the eye. "You fall in a spring…" the older woman gulped nervously. "…and you take the form of what ever drowned in that spring."

Her mother gripped the long fabric wrapped object close to her chest. As if it would protect her from what ever demon may attack her. "…And now they have been changed by these curses…?" she asked.

Karin nodded. "well…temporarily. Cold water triggers the change while hot water reverses it." Her mother seemed to calm down a little. "…However…" she continued, much to her mother's chagrin. "…sometimes someone takes in so much of the cursed water that the change is permanent. Kenji, your youngest son was unfortunate enough to meet this fate."

Nodoka couldn't believe what the girl was telling her. Kenji? Forever cursed to live with a different body? Why was life so cruel? With tears welling in her eyes, she looked up to the girl and asked . "Please tell me…what's become of my baby…?" she choked out. "What kind of body is he forever cursed to live with?"

The girl tried her best to consol her, despite the tears building in her own eyes. "…a girl…" was all she said. Nodoka looked back up at the girl disbelievingly. Her baby had been changed into a girl? …how could this be?

"…and what of Ranma?" she asked quietly, afraid of what she would hear. What if he changed into some kind of wild beast? Or a hellish demon? Her heart sank in her chest just thinking about it.

The girl sighed sadly. "Ranma fell into the same spring…" she said. "…but he can still change back." Nodoka was filled with hope. Both of them turned female? That wasn't so bad… what's more, Ranma can still change back. But…Kenji…

"…I want to speak to Kenji…: she declared after a moment of silence. The girl seemed to get nervous. As if afraid of a bad reaction to what she was about to say.

"…I am Kenji…" she whispered. Nodoka's went wide. This girl…was her son? She looked the girl in the eyes…and saw sadness, panic, desperation…honesty…she could tell that the girl was telling the truth. Somehow she could just tell.

"…Kenji…?" she asked. The tears were still in her eyes.

Her son-turned daughter smiled sadly. "…yeah…it's me, mom…" she said as she took the woman's hand in her own. "…I wanted you back in my life…I need you…"

"Is there any way to reverse what's happened to you?" she asked her child hopefully. Kenji shook her head.

"…No…we'd spent the last four months looking for a cure, but there isn't one…especially for my case. All I can do is adjust…that's why I wanted to see you again so badly." She said sadly.

Nodoka smiled at her child sadly. "…You are my child…my baby. No matter what you need, I'll be here to help." The girl smiled and hugged her.

"Thanks mom…" she said softly.

Nodoka realized that she had forgotten about someone. "…and your father?" she asked, earning a grin from her d…daughter…it felt so nice to think about. She had a daughter. Kenji grinned like a giddy schoolgirl. It seemed fitting, considering she wore a girl's school uniform.

"He turns into a panda!" she laughed. Nodoka stared incredulously at her daughter.

"…a panda…?" was all she managed before she began straining herself to hold back the laughter.

Kenji's grin got even wider. "Go ahead…you know you want to…" she coaxed.

Finally she gave in and started laughing uncontrollably.

"So, where are you staying, dear?" Nodoka asked. Kenji smiled.

"Did you ever meet Dad's friend, Mr. Soun Tendo?" she asked. "We're staying at his dojo as guests, because of Ranma's engagement." Nodoka nodded in understanding.

Kenji seemed to just remember something. She turned to her and said "Oh, by the way, Kenji isn't a very good girl's name so I've picked up a new name."

Nodoka arched an eyebrow. "Have you now? And that is…?"

The girl smiled. "Karin." Nodoka looked at her daughter thoughtfully. Karin Saotome, huh? What a nice name.

Nodoka decided to have some fun. "So, Karin…" she said with a teasing grin on her face. "…any handsome young men catch your eye? Hmm?" Karin turned bright red, and began to fiddle with the hem of her uniform skirt.

"Uh…well…um…" she stuttered lamely.

Nodoka went wide eyed. "There is, isn't there?"

Karin bit her lower lip while smiling shyly, and nodded. "um…there is one…"

Nodoka smiled gently at Karin. "Tell me about him. What's his name?" she said softly, putting an arm around Karin's shoulder.

Karin blushed further as she leaned into her mother. "He was a friend from middle school…his name is Ryoga Hibiki…"

Author's notes: Holy Hell! My longest chapter to date! I hope the new formatting is a little easier to read. I'm now editing the first few chapters so they aren't going to be big blocks of text anymore. In the next chapter, Karin brings Nodoka home to meet Ranma and the Tendos. Will Genma try and run away? Probably…will Nodoka fall for it? Not his time! The Tendos think she's really nice. Genma ends up in the proverbial doghouse. And Shampoo wants to date Ranma! oh…Ryoga will probably be back soon…in a couple weeks…well, that's chapter 5! Please read and review!


	6. Paying the piper!

Ranma 1/2: Little Sister Saga

Chapter 6: Paying the piper

Author's notes: I'm finally back again! I've had a lot to put up with lately I've started working full time again, three other stories in the works, my internet's been down for a month now, among many other things. I'm back from my hiatus and the panda pieces are most definitely going to be flying everywhere! Too bad there won't be any animal rights activists, eh? …heh heh heh… poor old Genma –grins evily-

Disclaimer: I still don't own The Ranma ½ series.

Karin and Nodoka shared a somewhat awkward silence at younger Saotome's words. Karin was rather nervous. She had just told her mother about her crush on her middle school friend, but it still felt unnerving. "What's wrong, sweetie?" Nodoka asked her daughter, trying to ease the tension.

Karin looked downward. "…I really like him…but…" she inched closer to her mother. Karin had never thought about what would happen if she told Ryoga her secret. What would he do? She knew what any guy would do. He would glare at her in disgust. 'You were a guy? Stay away from me you gender changing freak!' he'd say…it was heartbreaking.

Her mother seemed to catch on. "…but you haven't told him yet?" she more stated then asked. Karin nodded in response.

Karin's eyes began to water. "…I'm afraid…" she whimpered. "…I'm afraid that he'll…" she looked her mother in the eyes. "…that he'll hate me!" she sobbed, burying her face in the fabric of her mother's kimono.

Karin felt her mother's arms wrap around her gently. "…shhhhhh…it's okay…" she said softly as she stroked her daughter's hair. She continued to cry, but it felt…comforting to have a shoulder to cry on. Sure, there was Akane, but this was different. The feeling was stronger. She liked it. She wanted it to last. Her crying lulled to soft sniffling.

Nodoka cradled her son-turned daughter gently, whispering soft words of tenderness into the child's ear. It felt strange. Her child…born a boy, but now a girl…in her arms, crying over fear of heartbreak. A young man has entered her life, and she welcomes him readily. "These feelings you have…are you certain he feels the same way?" she asked the girl tentatively.

Karin sniffled and shook her head. "…no…" she said sadly. The older woman laid the katana across the table and continued to run her fingers through her daughter's long red hair. Nodoka sensed that this line of conversation was going to take a turn for the depressing, so she decided a change of subject was in order. "…so, this Ryoga boy…tell me about him. How did you meet?" Karin's mood seemed to change dramatically. Her face softened from the pinicale of misery into a contented, dreamy smile.

Nodoka smiled as her daughter snuggled into her a little more before speaking. "we originally met in middle school." She said. "I told him I had to pass myself off as a boy, because this was at an all boy's school." She was more then a little guilt ridden, but her smile returned. "We met again just recently…" she said softly "…just crossed paths on the street about a week ago."

Nodoka couldn't help but smile. Fate had finally granted her a daughter. She would definitely have to meet this Ryoga that her girl liked so much. Her daughter, born a boy, had fallen victim to her first crush. "…love at first sight, huh?" she teased.

Karin seemed to think for a moment before answering. "…yeah…I guess so…"

Nodoka's smile widened. "Would you say he's…manly?" she asked hopefully. She wouldn't have her daughter falling for some spineless skinny toothpick. He had to be a man. Strong, brave, handsome…

Karin merely sighed dreamily. "…if Ryoga's not manly…no one is…" Nodoka arched an eyebrow at her daughter's words. "He's just as good as Ranma in martial arts, but he also has a romantic side…he's so sweet…" Karin lowered her eyes sadly. "It makes me sad…that Ryoga and Ranma are always fighting. They were supposed to have a big duel a few years back…but it never happened."

Nodoka gave Karin a kiss on her forehead. "Boys will be boys, dear." She said softly. "When pride is on the line, one must always accept the challenge… no matter how pointless it may seem." Her daughter was silent. Perhaps processing what she had told her.

Karin nodded at her mother's words. It was true, she realized, when she thought back to even the previous year, before any of this maddeningly chaotic turmoil began. When she herself was male She'd accepted many challenges of honour, she won some, she lost a couple…you know how it is.

Even now, Karin was never known to back down from a challenge. Neither would Ranma and Ryoga, and she'd be damned if being a girl would turn her into a docile little housewife. She was far too restless for that. She would continue to perfect her martial arts. She would teach her children martial arts. She would not be the damsel in distress. She would not allow herself to be looked down upon for being a woman.

Karin felt confidence well in her as she realized, she was a very strong girl. She was strong, independent. She supposed she had her father to thank for that. 'better give the devil his due's while he's still on good behaviour.' She thought. She had to give the man credit. His training methods were moronic, but they were effective. She thought back to her youth as a boy…when her father tried to force the siblings to undertake the Cat fist training.

Two six year old boys stood before their father wrapped in fish-sausages. Only a moment of confusion was shared before both of them were pushed down into the pit full of cats…and were mauled. Both of them cried as loud as they could for their father to make it stop, to stop these once adorable furry creatures from tearing them apart.

Karin shuddered as she remembered the pain she felt that day. Why Ranma accepted that whole 'man among men' bull was beyond her. He continued that torturous farce of training and was permanently scarred for the rest of his life. She, however flat out refused. She ran and fought tooth and nail to escape it. She still remembered the look of disdain on her father's face. 'You disappoint me boy. You'll never be a man among men!' he said. Ranma suffered through that farce again and again, and from then on Ranma had been named successor of the Saotome school.

…Well screw him! Karin wasn't bound to his philosophies anymore, now that she had someone else to turn to. She stopped herself from fallowing this train of thought. She wanted to prove her strength to her father, not disavow him entirely. This thought made Karin remember where she was, in the arms of her mother, in a booth at the Cat Café. She looked back to her mother. "Would you like to meet everyone?" she asked happily

Her mother smiled. "I'd love to, dear." She said happily.

Karin gestured to her Chinese friend. "That's Shampoo…" she said, introducing the Chinese girl. "She and her great grandmother helped me when I was sick in china." Her mother gave shampoo a pleasant smile.

Shampoo gave a friendly bow and the customary "Ni hao." before returning to her job.

Elder Cologne entered the dining room of the restaurant casually at the mention of her connection. "Ah…so you're Karin's mother. It's a pleasure. Both of your children are strong. You aught to be very proud of them." She said sagely. "Try not to assimilate her too quickly. She did used to be male." Karin spied a blush tint her mother's cheeks as she was no doubt already planning out how to go about teaching her the 'ways of the woman'.

The older Saotome nodded sheepishly. "…yes, I know…I'll encourage some new things, but I won't force her…" she said as her eyes seemed reminiscent. "…not after how long I've waited to see my babies again."

Karin tugged her mother out of the booth and lead her to the door. "Come on, you still have to meet everyone else!" she insisted. Her mother was finally back in her life, and Ranma's too. Nothing was going to stop her from reuniting her long separated family. Not her father, not anyone.

Karin walked with her mother down a familiar street, and crossed paths with something that surprised her, to say the least. Walking towards them was a girl who looked exactly like Akane, but with short somewhat boyish hair. Her eyes stayed on the ground, seeming to be deep in thought. The girl looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi Karin." She greeted before gazing curiously at her company.

"…Akane, is that you?" Karin asked incredulously. The girl nodded, a slight blush tinting her face. "I like the new look, Akane. It suits you pretty well."

Akane seemed shocked by the praise. "…you…think so?"

Karin nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, definitely" she said before turning to her mother. "Mom, this is Akane, Mr. Tendo's youngest daughter, Ranma's fiancé, and my roommate"

Akane's eyes went wide. "This is your mother? This is what you were trying to do over the passed week?" she asked. Karin smiled in response.

Karin leaned in. "My dad would've stopped me. That much I know for a fact, so I had to work under the radar for a while."

A devious grin plastered on Akane's face. "Intend to make him answer for a few things?" Akane asked mischievously.

Karin returned the look. "You know it"

Nodoka sensed two blatant tomboys in these girls. "Do you practice martial arts as well, Akane?" she asked, trying to get into the conversation.

The short haired girl smiled. "Yup, I never had any brothers, and I was the only one interested in carrying on the Tendo style." She confirmed.

Nodoka sighed. "Well, I suppose it's not my choice, but as long as you behave properly when the time calls for it, then I have no objections." She said. Nodoka had been brought up to be a traditional Japanese woman. Dutiful, knows how to cook, clean, and many other things that women were expected to do. As result, it slightly peeved her when girls now behaving so inappropriately, but times change. A culture must adapt to the changing world around it or it will be lost. This, she knew.

Women were becoming more and more independent, confident, ambitious. Women were in action movies and the military now… "Mom?" the sound of Karin's voice snapped her from her mental tangent.

"I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere…what were you saying?" she asked without thinking. Karin and Akane both giggled.

"We're almost there, just around the corner." Karin said with a good natured chuckle.

"Oh…okay." Was all Nodoka could think to say. She would finally be reunited with her family after fourteen long years. She was happy beyond words. She was excited beyond comprehension. She scanned her surroundings to see the gateway to the Tendo Dojo.

"I'm home!" Karin announced, gaining the attention of Kasumi as she walked into the doorway to the kitchen.

Kasumi turned around and smiled cheerfully at them "Hello…Oh, we have a visitor?" she inquired Karin nodded.

Karin turned to her mother. "Sit tight for a minute, I'm gonna go get Dad for ya." She said, leaving her mother standing in the kitchen with an awkward silence hanging over her. Karin wandered into the tea room to find her father and Mr. Tendo in their usual spot, doing their usual thing...Shogi…and cheating blatantly at every distraction… "Dad, someone here to see you." She said flatly, watching the man shrug and stand up to investigate his "unknown visitor"

A devious grin spread across Karin's face as she fallowed her father to the kitchen. The man went stiff as he entered and saw who was waiting for him. The woman looked up and smiled gleefully. "Genma, darling!" She cried as she ran to him and hugged him with all she was worth. "We can finally be a family again!" she choked through tears of happiness.

Having heard the commotion, Ranma wandered into the kitchen. "Hey, what's goin on in here?" he asked curiously.

Karin smiled as she saw her mother look at Ranma with child like wonder. "…Ranma…is that you?" she asked. Ranma merely nodded dumbly.

Ranma could only stare at the woman in bewilderment as she slowly walked towards him and reached out to touch his face. "…My little Ranma…how much you've grown…" She whimpered. A smile tugged her quivering lips. "…you look so handsome…" she cried as she pulled him into a hug.

"Karin, who is this?" Ranma asked a little uncomfortably. The woman pulled back with a hurt expression on her face.

Their father was the one to answer the question. "That's your mother boy." He stated grimly.

Ranma's eyes went wide as he looked back at the woman's watering eyes. "…M-mom?" he asked. Karin smiled as her mother hugged Ranma again.

"That's right, baby…we will be a family again!" she pulled away once more to wipe the tears from her greyish blue eyes and catch her breath. After a moment she was a littler calmer. "Excuse me, Ranma, but I must see something…" she said pulling a waterbottle from the sleeve of her kimono. Ranma backed away.

"It's okay Ranma…" Karin stated. "…I told her…she knows" Ranma stood still and allowed his mother to pour the water over his head.

Ranma changed from male to female as the water splashed over his head. Nodoka stepped back and gazed at Ranma in awe. "…you both look just like me…" she whispered. The woman pulled both of her younger look-alikes into a hug. "So, how was your trip? We have so much catching up to do!"

Their moment was cut short by the sound of a heavy thud on the ground, fallowed by… "…And where do you think you're going Saotome, hmmm?" Soun asked coldly.

The white clad man jumped back on his feet frantically. "Oh! Uh…nowhere, just going out to the yard to warm up, Tendo. heh heh heh…" Soun merely arched an eyebrow.

"You aren't going anywhere, Saotome…" Soun intoned.

"Are you familiar with the Cat fist?" Karin asked her mother, who shook her head.

Soun noticed Genma go pale as the question was asked. "…no, I've never heard of it. Is that a technique that your father taught you?" Nodoka asked. Karin and Ranma shared an evil grin and a nod.

Ranma's expression was dark. "…It's a forbidden art that the old fool still insisted on teaching us…"

Nodoka gasped softly. "…a forbidden technique…why…?" she began, only to be cut off by Ranma.

"…Wrap the trainee in fish products and toss em' into a pit full of starving cats repeatedly until the psychological trauma causes the subject to believe that they are a cat. It's possibly the most dangerous technique ever created…" Ranma stated, his voice void of any emotion. Nodoka Gasped once again, only louder this time.

The woman turned to her husband, an ominous red aura emanating from her. Her form was an ominous silhouette against the dark red aura. "…you…BASTARD!" she roared. "You put our children through that pathetic farce excuse for training…repeatedly?"

Genma was now on his knees. "Please forgive me! I put everything in my being into making them men among men! I didn't know it was a forbidden technique, please believe me!" the man begged.

Karin and Ranma both scowled. "Oh please!" the girl sneered. "All you would have had to do is turn to the page, old man! And what about all those people you stole from, and pinned it on us?" Karin snapped.

The silhouette now possessed glowing red eyes. "…Stole from…?" She gripped the long cloth wrapped package until her knuckles were white. "…and framing the children?"

Genma shrunk even closer to the ground. "…it was to build character…"

Nodoka's eye twitched. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" she roared, taking a bucket full of water seemingly out of nowhere, and splashing it over him. This of course, caused him to turn into his panda form. "Animals this size should be outside…" she said coldly, glaring at her husband. "…not in the house…"

As Genma slinked out into the back yard of the Tendo house, Nodoka smiled cheerfully at the on looking family members. "I'm truly sorry you all had to see that, as well as for any trouble he may have caused for you and your family Mr. Tendo." She said with a bow. "As an apology, please allow me to cook dinner for you."

Kasumi gave her usual cheerful smile. "Oh, but you are a guest. We wouldn't be very good hosts if we made you cook for us…" the Tendo girl reasoned.

Nodoka shook her head. "Oh, I really must make up for all the trouble that my husband has no doubt caused for you…" she insisted. "…besides, it's been such a long time since I've cooked for a family. I need to get back into practice." The woman chirped.

The family seemed to find this answer acceptable, as Kasumi proceeded to show the older woman around the kitchen. Karin and Akane now stood outside, looking skyward. "It looks like we're getting a storm tonight…" Akane stated absently. Then her face lit up as she remembered something. "Oh, by the way, Ryoga and Ranma had their fight while you were meeting your mom." She explained.

Karin flinched as she remembered how angry Ryoga was. She was almost afraid to find out who won. "…so…who won?" she asked nervously.

Akane shrugged in response. "No one, really. I guess it was a draw." was all she said. Karin's nervousness didn't escape Akane's notice. She didn't want to give the girl any more anxiety. Akane could see how much Karin cared about both of them, and couldn't bring herself to tell Karin about her accidental haircut. Or the black eye that she gave him because of it.

As the storm clouds continued to gather, Karin turned back inside. "They'll be at it again, soon…" she said sadly. "…If they didn't finish, then one of them will challenge the other…"

Akane felt like she needed to change the subject. "I know what will cheer you up!" she announced, taking Karin by the wrist and dragging her back into the house.

The two girls found themselves in the familiar space of the Tendo Dojo. Karin smiled as she realised that it had been a couple days since their last sparring session. "Okay! Lets get some serious training done!" the redhead cheered.

The two girls clashed…

Author's notes: wow, that took me long enough! Sorry that it took so long, I've been working fulltime hours again for some time and hadn't had much opportunity to write in that time. I hope it was worth the wait, but if not I apologize. It is still early on in the story before any of the really exciting stuff happens. Please read and review!


	7. Enter Pchan!

Little Sister Saga

Chapter 7: Enter P-chan!

Author's notes: well, that break was long enough… a lot of stuff's been happening and…yeah…so, now I'm back with a new chapter! As well I'd like to point out that I don't own any of the songs that Karin may sing to herself throughout the story. That one a few chapters back is called "Fake wings" and is from .hack sign…anyway…Ryoga returns to finish the fight with Ranma and becomes Karin's adorable pet piggy! Things get tense when Akane addresses the hair incident at school, and Ryoga reveals his curse to Akane and Ranma…but is too afraid to tell Karin. Things get more awkward then ever when Karin starts telling "P-chan" about her dirty little fantasies.

It was almost midnight, and it was raining, hard. Ryoga wandered down the dimly lit streets of Tokyo, desperately trying to remain dry in the middle of a thunderstorm…which, by the way, is no easy feat. After what felt like an eternity, the brooding teen found his destination. The Tendo dojo.

Ryoga climbed up to the window and peered inside, where he saw Ranma laying sprawled across the floor, snoring. He slowly opened the window and crept inside, tiptoeing near the base boards so the floor wouldn't creek. Standing over Ranma he nudged the sleeping bane of his existence with his foot. "…Ranma, wake up!" Ryoga whispered. Ranma only snored in response.

"Ranma. we have a score to settle." He whispered again, but a little louder.

"…meh…" was all Ranma would reply before rolling over in his futon.

Ryoga's eye twitched. "Wake up dumb ass!" he growled, apparently louder than he intended, because his reply was a wooden…something across the face…that hit him with such force that it sent him flying right back out the window. Unknown to Ryoga, the object was a picket sign that read "Quiet Down!" in the hand of a cranky panda.

Ryoga hit the ground with a heavy thud. And Ranma flew out the window soon after. Ryoga glared at Ranma's airborne form to see that he was still asleep. "…Idiot would sleep through his own hanging…asshole…" Ryoga sneered, but smirked as Ranma plummeted into the Tendo's koi pond. His umbrella open and over his head, he stood at the ready for Ranma to resurface.

The pigtailed teen in question resurfaced franticly, gagging and spitting up water. "What in hell's bathroom is going on!" the now female Ranma demanded.

Ryoga glared. "…we still have a score to settle, Ranma. we never got to finish our fight remember?"

Ranma climbed out of the pond, shaking the water from her clothes. "You don't know when to give up!" Ranma snapped. She dropped into a stance, and the two teens clashed.

Unknown to them, the Tendo sisters and Karin stood huddled just behind the wall of the dojo. Akane peeking out the doorway, holding a kendo stick, ready to beat the "prowler" to a pulp. "…Okay, time to run this guy out…" she said.

"…wait, Akane!" Kasumi whispered. The girl in question turned to look at her older sister. "use this…" she said offering a small dumbbell, which Akane accepted with a nod. With a loud cry, Akane threw the dumbbell as hard as she could.

Ryoga was in mid-air with a kick aimed for Ranma'a head when something very hard collided with his head. In his dazed state, Ryoga dropped his umbrella and fell to the ground. His mind became a haze of panic as rain fell on his body. In his panic, he sprung to his feet and ran.

Ranma stared bewilderedly as Ryoga retreated into the darkness. "…what was that about?"

Akane and Karin made their way back to the room they shared. "That prowler won't be back here any time soon!" Akane boasted, putting her kendo stick back in the bin that had several other training weapons in it.

Karin shrugged her shoulders. "yeah, probably not…" but just after she spoke, both girls felt as if they were being watched. Suddenly, a small black blur shot out from underneath Akane's bed. Bouncing off the walls like a rubber ball in the cartoons. It moved so fast, neither one could tell what it actually was. Both girls tried to swat the object out of the air.

"Dammit!" Akane cursed as she missed for the third time.

"…like fighting a housefly on meth and steroids!" Karin hissed.

Eventually it was Karin who slapped the black object out of mid-air, revealing it to be a tiny black piglet with a familiar bandanna wrapped around its neck. It growled slightly as the two girls began fawning over it. "Awwwww, it's so cute!" Akane cooed.

Karin knelt down and extended her hand to the tiny animal. "…come on…" she whispered sweetly, "…no one's going to hurt you…" The piglet seemed to calm down as it approached her cautiously. Karin slowly scooped the piglet up with both hands. "Aw, did I hurt you, sweetie? I'm sorry…" she cooed before giving the small, but irresistibly adorable creature a soft kiss.

Akane saw the piglet's eyes shine like a person who won millions at the lottery…like he was the happiest guy in the world. She couldn't help but smile. The little pig warmed up to them both instantly, and it wasn't long before it sat in a shoebox with a pillowcase at the bottom. The tiny animal squealed happily before curling up in its new makeshift bed underneath Akane's desk.

The next day, The tiny piglet, or "P-chan" as they called him now, awoke slowly. He trotted happily out into the hallway Akane came around the corner fully dressed in her uniform. "Oh, P-chan!" she greeted happily as she scooped the pig up. She went down the stairs and was greeted by the Saotome siblings. Karin grinned at the sight of them.

"Hi, P-chan!" Karin said enthusiastically.

Ranma stared at his sister like she was a total stranger doing the strangest thing he'd ever seen. "…P-chan?...seriously?" He asked. Karin merely stuck her tongue out at him. The two girls continued walking.

Downstairs, Akane set P-chan down on the couch. "be a good boy, P-chan. No wandering off okay?" she said as if to a young toddler. The piglet squealed happily. As if satisfied with the reply, Akane and Karin both picked up their book bags and walked out the door. Nabiki and Ranma fallowed soon after.

-several hours later-

Ranma and Akane were walking home from school when Ryoga wandered around the corner, muttering something to the map in his hands. Akane's eyes narrowed. "Ryoga!"

Ryoga looked up with a jolt as Akane stomped up to him. His eyes went wide as Akane took hold of his collar. "Akane! What-"

"Ryoga, I could have been seriously hurt!" Akane barked. "What did Ranma do to you that I had nearly gotten decapitated for?"

Akane backed down however when Ryoga stared coldly back at her. "…I got cursed because he kicked me into a spring…or were you not paying attention at the diner?" Akane was about to speak again when Ryoga cut her off. "It is true, that my attack could have seriously injured you…maybe even killed you, and I won't let it happen again, but that all happened because you stepped into our crossfire knowing full well what we were capable of. Your hair will grow back. But I'm stuck with this curse probably for the rest of my life!" Ryoga's eyes were watering. "…if you want to know what my curse is so badly, then I'll show you…but I beg you…" he pleaded. "…please don't tell Karin…"

Ryoga walked down to the edge of the river that ran through their neighbourhood, and splashed water in his face. Ranma and Akane were both stunned into silence. Ryoga had seemed to have disappeared entirely, leaving his clothes in a rumpled heap, when a very familiar creature wiggled its way out. "P-chan?" Akane gasped.

"Seriously?" Ranma gaped. The one who is perhaps his most fierce rival yet…reduced to this? No wonder he's so angry. The piglet in question started digging in his backpack. He'd almost disappeared into the man made black hole of a backpack for a while. The pig finally crawled out with its front hooves fumbling with a thermos as big as he was.

After a couple attempts to unscrew the lid, the pig looked up at them hopefully. Akane stepped forward and picked up the thermos. "You'd better be straight with me…" she said almost threateningly, frightening the small pig. "…are you taking advantage of Karin?" the pig squealed as it frantically shook its head. Akane's expression turned gentle and serene. "…you really care for her…don't you?" Her words were soft and gentle this time. Ryoga the pig nodded. Akane nodded and handed the thermos to Ranma. "yeah, do it." She said before turning around, her back to both of them.

Ranma poured the hot water out of the thermos, turning the small piglet into the young man he'd once been. "It's a good thing Karin gets along with Akane's friends so well…otherwise, she'd have been here to see this."

Ryoga grimaced at the thought. He would have to tell her eventually, but…what would Karin say about something like this? 'ew! Get away from me you disgusting little pervert!' she would scream in his face. Probably give him a good slap across the face too. The thought of her hating him… "Yeah…I know…" Ryoga finished putting his clothes back on as he said it. "…I just don't want her to hate me…"

Akane wanted to put Ryoga's mind at ease, if even for a while. "That's understandable, there are things that she's afraid to tell you as well."

"Yeah, we all have our own secrets that we don't share even with closest friends." Ranma piped up. Ryoga was a good guy that was always hounded by misfortune. Ranma felt like he was almost obligated to help the poor guy out, given his relationship with Karin.

"Where is Karin anyway?" Ryoga asked

"Ah, she's trying out for the uh…" Ranma looked at Akane sheepishly.

"Martial arts Gymnastics, Ranma…" Akane answered flatly. Her tone was as flat and unamused as her expression.

Ryoga blushed as he envisioned Karin in a gymnastics leotard. His mother taught it for a living, and so he caught on to several things that helped in his own martial arts training. The lost teen fallowed as Ranma and Akane walked home. They continued along when Ranma and Ryoga both were splashed by the ever present, nameless old woman who is forever splashing water on the sidewalk for no readily apparent reason.

Ryoga…or P-chan squealed in surprise, but Ranma and Akane didn't seem at all surprised that it happened. Did this happen on a regular basis? After adjusting her own clothing, Ranma proceeded to pick up Ryoga's clothes as Akane picked up his backpack. To the pig boy's surprise, she did so with little effort. She was stronger then she looked. She then scooped P-chan up in her free hand and carried him the rest of the way in the awkward silence that hung over the three of them.

-Furinkan high gymnastics practice-

"Alright. Good effort, ladies! Hit the showers and head home!" the gymnastics coach called out. Karin wiped the sweat from her forehead as she walked out the door. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, something she decided was a good look for her. She wore a white tanktop, and dark blue sweatpants. Yuka and Sayuri fell in step next to Karin.

The long haired girl, sayuri, had already been a member of the gymnastics team, and had convinced the coach to let Karin take part in the practice.

"Hey, do you think your new boyfriend will be in town?" Sayuri asked with a smirk.

Karin blushed. "Huh, what?"

"Oh, come on. Everybody has seen you get all close and cuddly with that Ryoga guy." Yuka teased. Karin's face went redder. Was it really that obvious to others? Not that she was embarrassed to be with him. It was quite the opposite, she loved him.

"well, I don't know for sure…" Karin said, bashfully. "…what with his whole direction problem." The other two girls nodded in understanding. He was three days late for the duel with Ranma. "from some of the stories that he's told me…he may vary well be on the mainland, maybe even in Europe, by now…" Karin suddenly felt very sad when she realized that it could be a very long time before she sees him again.

Little did she know that he was, more often then not, much closer then she thought. Karin's mind wandered as she walked home, thinking about random things that would probably escape her memory ten minutes later.

Karin wandered in the door at the Tendo dojo absentmindedly. She flicked her bangs out of her eyes as she spied P-chan sitting on the couch next to Ranma, and Akane on the floor. A smile graced her features as she scooped up the tiny piglet "Hey sweetie" she greeted with a sugary tone. "Did you miss Mommy?" she asked as if to a small toddler.

"bweeeee!" the tiny creature squealed happily in response.

"Good." Karin said

"how'd practice go?" Ranma inquired.

Karin scowled. "The coach had the audacity to tell me that I need glasses!"

"…and that makes four…" Ranma monotoned.

"Four what?" Genma asked, having overheard part of the conversation.

"Four teachers that have said to her face that Karin needs to invest in some glasses." Nabiki answered. Karin bristled at the statement.

Genma nodded thoughtfully. "yes, well, it does make sense…I needed glasses when I was your age…" he stroked his chin sagely. "Have you spoken to your mother about this?" he asked, slightly concerned.

Karin shook her head. "No, I didn't think it was such an issue!" she said stubbornly.

"You're gonna have to go eventually!" Ranma called from the couch. Karin merely glared. the last thing she wanted was people laughing at her for having glasses. Ryoga wouldn't laugh at her for that…would he? Karin banished the thought from her mind. No, Ryoga would never be so shallow.

Karin looked down at P-chan in her arms. He looked up at her, and she smiled. Karin walked into the dojo, which seemed to be her calming place. she stared out into the yard that the dojo looked out into. "Ya know what P-chan? There is a handsome guy that I intend to marry someday." She said dreamily.

Ryoga looked up at Karin, in his little pig form. Was she talking about him? no…she couldn't be…but she did try to kiss him that one time. She was the only one who ever showed an interest in him. Karin's voice snapped him back to reality.

"…his name is Ryoga…" she said. Ryoga's mind raced. She WAS talking about him! "he's handsome, strong, with a body to die for…" she said. Ryoga stared. The smile on Karin's face had been replaced by one that seemed lustful and perverted. "…when ever I see him…I can't help but want to see him without his shirt on…" she said suggestively.

Ryoga couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had this side of her that he didn't know about? Karin squirmed in her seat. "Pants too…" Ryoga's eye's went wide. She fantasized about him to that degree? "…Mom wants to meet him…his family too…" she said, more calmly.

The word family seemed to bring her back to her daydreaming. "…family…I can't wait till I have one of my own…" the 'sparkling daydream' look returned to her eyes. "…I'll be the mother…Ryoga would be the father and our children…" Karin snuggled with him like he was a stuffed animal.

Ryoga rested against her chest. She wanted children with him? this was almost like some kind of fantasy! But, those other things she was saying…fantasizing with such perverse…inhibitions. This was going to get uncomfortable if she kept saying such things. Ryoga wouldn't deny that most guys his age would welcome such advances with open arms. But he was not like most guys. He was very shy. Having been raised, mostly, by a feminist martial artist mother, he was taught to be very polite.

A feeling of dread went through him as he thought of his mother. She wouldn't be very impressed with him if she ever heard about the incident with Akane at the park. As strong as he was, his mom was stronger. She was the one who had trained him in the art, and he hadn't beaten her even once yet. Their track record is 30-0, and he doubted that even Ranma could beat her.

Ryoga was reminded where he was as Karin squirmed in her seat again…snuggled up against her chest, which was rather sizable by any standards…now that he was only a little bigger then a freakin' beanie baby…wow…large…Ryoga had met some guys with some bizarre fetishes and would give a limb to be this small compared to their love interests. He banished the thought as it just seemed unfathomable to him. sometimes he found it rather terrifying.

Ryoga sat there in awkward silence as Karin talked away. Most girls had diaries…not Karin. She had P-chan… he couldn't help but wonder if she would ever knowingly say these things to his face. Were these the things that Ranma and Akane were referring to? The things she was afraid to tell him? that she had this wild side? Such a marriage would definitely be eventful, to say the least.

'Then again, this is probably just the tip of the ice burg.' He thought. 'she probably really does have some dark secrets…' not that he could judge, being in the position that he was in. Maybe someday, he would tell her about "P-chan"…maybe someday…she would tell him about her secrets…some day…

…The next day…

Karin stared at her reflection in the mirror. Blue rimmed glasses were a new addition to her visage. She looked like a librarian or a school teacher. "Are you sure?" Karin asked her mother. "I don't want to look nerdy…" they were in an optometrist's office, getting Karin's new glasses.

Earlier that day, they had gone to the eye clinic and the doctor had indeed advised Karin to get glasses, much to the girl's dismay.

"Oh, Karin. You look positively beautiful!" her mother gasped. "Ryoga will be falling over you!"

Karin blushed intensely. She wouldn't deny that she had some dirty fantasies about him, but she doubted that she would ever act on any of them. She'd probably scare him away by being so…what was a polite way to say it…forward?

No. she had to be reserved. Calm, collected…now that she thought about it though, between her and her brother, she was the level headed one, and still, so many things go through her head at the mention of his name. Would he fall for her? Somehow, she wasn't convinced. "…They're okay, I guess. A few pairs of these will be fine."

After that statement, Karin dove back into deep thought. This didn't last long, however, as the object of her affection, Ryoga himself came wandering around the corner. To no one's great surprise, he was staring at a map…upside down…

"Ryoga!" Karin called enthusiastically. Nodoka watched as the boy that Karin called 'Ryoga', who was also the boy she'd met on her way to the Cat Café, jumped three feet in the air with a startled yelp. He wore a sleeveless shirt this time, and Nodoka could see how Karin could spend so much time talking about him. with arms like that…

Nodoka sighed. It reminded her of a time when Genma at least pretended that he wasn't a complete half-wit… after hearing of some of the stunts that her husband pulled over the last fourteen years…she really found herself wondering how she could have trusted him with such treasures as her only children. She smiled as she watched Ryoga blush furiously with a shy smile on his face. hm…strong but shy, huh? Not a bad choice…she thought to herself. She approached them. "Hello again, Ryoga it's a pleasure to finally be formally introduced." She said with a slight bow. Placing the emphasis on the word 'formally'

Karin stared in confusion. "…you've…already met?"

"Briefly. We crossed paths when I was on my way to the Cat Café to meet with you on that one day…" Nodoka stated matter-of-factly.

"yeah, that's right. I remember that." Ryoga said thoughtfully.

Nodoka smirked. Time to have some fun… Karin had been staying at her house on her days off from school, and this was going to be one such day…but different. "would you like to join us for dinner, Ryoga?" her smile widened as both teens blushed profusely as an awkward silence hung between them for a good ten seconds.

"…uh…okay…?" he offered, not knowing what else to say. Nodoka grinned. This was going to be fun

Author's notes: holy hell! That took long enough. I apologize for the long delay. There was a lot of writer's block in the making of this chapter. In the next chapter…Revenge of the perv! The grand master and founder of the anything goes school of martial arts returns! Be afraid! Be very afraid! Happosai walks among us once again! and I'll have to come up with a way to make dinner at Nodoka's go terribly wrong, without exposing Ryoga's curse…it'll come close a few times, but what else could I do? Feel free to give suggestions in reviews or personal messages. Enjoy the newest instalment of Ranma ½ Little Sister Saga! Until next time, see ya!


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